Nicola MacdonaldFesticket, a platform for music festival experiences, has announced the acquisition of UK-based multi-award winning ticketing and cashless POS platform, Event Genius. The sale also includes the consumer-facing brand, Ticket Arena.
The new offering, known as ‘Event Genius by Festicket’, will create an end-to-end platform for organisers and fans. The platform will bring together technology and expertise including ticketing, accommodation, travel and packages, marketing, data insights and analytics, access control, POS and cashless payment services, fan engagement tools and more.
Festicket, recently ranked by the Financial Times as the 80th fastest growing company in Europe, enables music fans to discover and book tickets and travel packages for over 2,000 music festivals worldwide. Its two-sided marketplace brings together a network of nearly 6,000 accommodation and travel suppliers.
The acquisition will help deliver on Festicket’s mission to become the world’s largest two-sided platform for live events and build on recent success stories such as its exclusive UK and European partnership with Coachella.
Founded by managing director, Reshad Hossenally (pictured), Event Genius offers complete event solutions to events including Wales Rally GB, Motion Bristol, Annie Mac’s Lost & Found Festival, Summer Daze, Ibiza Rocks and BPM Festival.
To date, Festicket, Event Genius and Ticket Arena have collectively served more than 4.5 million customers from over 120 countries. Following the acquisition, Festicket will roll out the combined solution worldwide to festivals, concerts, clubs, sports, family attractions and more.
Zack Sabban, CEO and co-founder at Festicket, commented: “The acquisition transforms Festicket’s product set. In Event Genius, we have found a company that shares our mission to be a disruptive force in the live entertainment market and – ultimately – to bring the best possible experiences to fans. Reshad and the team have built a great product they have good reason to be proud of, and I look forward to welcoming them to the Festicket family”.
Hossenally, who will join Festicket as chief supply chain officer, explained: “The Event Genius mission has always been to utilise technology to bring event organisers and consumers a better experience, regardless of the size or type of event. Couple this with Festicket’s global marketplace and supplier network and we have something truly unique for the events industry.”