Christopher BarrettOne of the world’s biggest festival promoters, Superstruct Entertainment is understood to be poised to go on sale within weeks by its US private equity fund owner Providence Equity Partners.
Superstruct owns more than a dozen major UK music festivals, and nearly 90 worldwide. Launched by Creamfields festival (70,000) founder James Barton and Roderik Schlosser in 2017, Superstruct has expanded rapidly in recent years, buying up controlling stakes in UK festivals including Y Not (40,000), Bluedot (21,000), Victorious Festival (100,000), Tramlines (40,000), Boardmasters (50,000), NASS (15,000), South West Four (20,000) Truck (10,000) and Kendall Calling (25,000).
Reuters has reported that according to multiple sources Providence is working with advisers at Liontree and HSBC to explore interest in the promoter and could commence a sale process over the next month with Superstruct valued at around £1.5 billion.
Potential buyers understood to be interested in acquiring Superstruct are Condé Nast owner Advance Publications, Blackstone, CVC, KKR and EQT.
Among the many mainland Europe festivals owned by Superstruct include Hungary’s 95,000-capacity Sziget, Croatian festival Hideout (15,000), Flow (10,000) in Finland and Oya (15,000) in Norway.
In November, Superstruct Entertainment cancelled the 2024 edition of NASS Festival due to the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and the “significant increase” in operational costs. Music, science and culture festival Bluedot is having a fallow year in 2024 due to the impact of weather at last year’s event.