By Amy-Jo Crowley
LONDON (Reuters) – European festivals firm Superstruct Entertainment is in the early stages of being prepared for sale by its private equity owner, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, seeking to cash in on a post-pandemic rebound in live events.
Private equity funds have expressed interest in Superstruct in recent weeks, the people said, adding its owner, buyout house Providence, is expected to appoint a financial adviser later this year for a potential sale of the business
An auction process could therefore launch early next year, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity, but a final decision has yet to be taken.
Providence carried Superstruct through the COVID-19 pandemic when concerts and other public events came to a sudden halt, heavily impacting the company’s revenue and earnings.
But the firm’s annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation stand at upwards of 100 million pounds, and it could fetch 12-14 times EBITDA, or north of 1 billion pounds, in the event of a sale, one of the sources said.
Officials from Providence declined to comment. Superstruct did not respond to requests for comment.
Superstruct was founded in 2017 by Providence and James Barton, a former Live Nation president and founder of UK night club Cream, with Providence providing seed financing.
It has since grown by swallowing up festivals across Europe and Australia, and now operates 80 large-scale festivals and 200 smaller events. These include Germany’s Wacken Open Air rock festival and Dutch electronic dance music festival Mysteryland.
The rebound in live music and festivals following the end of lockdowns has also encouraged investment in the sector.
Private equity owner Silver Lake is advancing towards a sale of Australian live events and ticketing group TEG, which could be worth A$2 billion dollars, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The sale of TEG could serve as a yardstick for putting a price on Superstruct, as well as gauging buyer interest, one of them added.
(Reporting by Amy-Jo Crowley; Editing by Jan Harvey)
