MUNICH/VIENNA (CelebrityAccess) – Leading ticketing and live entertainment company CTS EVENTIM, has acquired a majority stake (71 percent) in Austrian concert promoter Barracuda Music.
The acquisition sees Barracuda Music becoming part of the EVENTIM LIVE promoter network, which was established in March of this year, and comprises 29 promoters who organize more than 30 festivals and some 5,000 live events, attracting ten million visitors in twelve countries annually.
Inturn, CTS EVENTIM will expand its European event portfolio to include some of Austria’s most popular concerts and festivals including Electric Love, Frequency, and Nova Rock, among others.
CTS EVENTIM CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg said: “We want to offer artists not only powerful ticketing services, but also international touring opportunities. Strengthening our market position in Austria is therefore an obvious step. Barracuda is one of Europe’s most creative concert promoters and ideally complements the portfolio of our EVENTIM LIVE promoter network. I am delighted that Ewald Tatar and his management team will continue to drive forward the development of Barracuda in their proven manner.”
Ewald Tatar, who will continue to manage Barracuda’s operations from Vienna, added: “I look forward to this opportunity to continue Barracuda’s success story in the future with the support of a global player like CTS EVENTIM. In particular, collaborating with the EVENTIM LIVE promoters will help us to offer artists, venues and fans the best possible solutions. I am confident that we, and hence Austria’s concert scene as a whole, will benefit greatly from this partnership.”
Frithjof Pils, Managing Director of EVENTIM LIVE, said: “The Barracuda Group is the first point of contact in Austria for countless outstanding local and international artists. It also has an exceptional portfolio of festivals that bring together hundreds of thousands of fans from home and abroad year after year. We very much look forward to being able to benefit from Ewald Tatar and his team’s experience and network at EVENTIM LIVE from now on.”
The transaction has been approved by the relevant antitrust authorities.
