Christopher BarrettAEG and CTS Eventim are reportedly among the companies to have made first-round bids to acquire See Tickets and festivals from French media group Vivendi.
The Financial Times has been informed by sources, “familiar with the matter”, that the two international live events industry giants were among those involved in a first round of indicative bids submitted in recent weeks.
Vivendi is understood to be aiming to gain up to €300m (£257m) for the sale of its full-service ticketing operation, See Tickets, along with its interests in festivals across France and the UK, including Kite and Love Supreme, that are overseen by its Vivendi Village arm.
Vivendi reportedly said it had received “several very encouraging offers” for its ticketing and festival interests.
Global promoting and venue powerhouse AEG already owns ticketer AXS. The winner of the best Ticketing Operator award at the recent AAA Awards, AXS was launched in August 2011 and has since been adopted at venues worldwide including AEG’s Staples Center (cap. 20,000) in Los Angeles and The O2 (20,000) in London, along with outdoor events in the city including the 65,000-capacity BST Hyde Park (pictured) and All Points East (40,000).
German-headquartered European ticketing giant CTS Eventim, which co-owns London’s Eventim Apollo (5,300) with AEG, generated more than €1 billion (£855m) in revenue during the first half of 2023, up 39% on the same period the previous year.
Headquarter in the UK with offices in 10 countries including France and the US, See Tickets was acquired by Vivendi in 2011 for €96m (£82m). Among its many major event clients is Glastonbury Festival, which it has worked with since 1997 and provides the registration and personal ID system that prevents touting.