(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Music promoter Mean Fiddler has accepted a takeover offer which values the company at around £38 million, or US $72 million.
The successful bid from Clear Channel Entertainment and Irish firm Gaiety Investments, gives them control of the Leeds Festival, the Reading Festival and 39% of the Glastonbury Festival.
The deal, which is still subject to approval by Mean Fiddler shareholders, will see the firm’s founder, Vince Power, pocket approximately £13 million for his 35% stake. Power started the company more than 20 years ago.
CCE and Gaiety have set up a joint venture company, Hamsard, to run Mean Fiddler. Besides the festivals, Mean Fiddler also owns The Forum, the Astoria, the Fleadh, the Jazz Café, and organized the dance festivals Homelands, Creamfields, and Tribal Gathering. CCE, a division of Clear Channel Communications, already owns over 130 live entertainment venues. Gaiety manages festivals such as the Oxegen Music Festival and a number of venues in Ireland. –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
