Live entertainment is becoming ever-more fertile ground for private equity, with a deal in the subsector already announced in 2025.
The sector boomed in 2024 with events like Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, which topped $2 billion in revenues, grabbing headlines. The year also saw soccer’s European Championships, as well as the annual Superbowl, which both gathered crowds.
“The whole out-of-home experience is becoming more and more accepted, more and more sought out by institutional investors as an asset class,” Lisbeth Barron, CEO and chairman of Barron International Group, told PE Hub.
“There are high barriers to entry. There are a finite number of, for example, theaters on Broadway and/or on the West End. There’s the opportunity to scale the sector globally. Therefore, private equity now sees this as a very real sector that has strong IRR generation potential, and the top PE firms have significant capital to spend. If they can consolidate it, there always appear to be a limitless number of interesting buyers for exit strategies who want to enter the field, both private equity and strategic players.”
New York-based Barron International primarily operates as a sell-side advisory firm in sectors such as entertainment and media, leisure and hospitality, and branded consumer products. The company has worked on about $100 billion in transactions, which also includes certain capital raising and buy-side assignments.
The attraction of live entertainment is unsurprising, considering it was just a couple of years ago when fans were deprived of live events during the covid-19 pandemic. But the pandemic was just a blip in already strong growth.
“Live entertainment has always been a very dynamic sector that has experienced over the last 10-15 years a significant amount of high growth,” Christopher Belcher, director at Barron, told PE Hub. “Right now, a number of different factors have gotten private equity’s attention. It’s really well positioned for the next five to 10 years, primarily driven by a number of catalysts such as technology. Technology has been fairly important from both a demand and a supply standpoint.”
In the last 12 months there have been an abundance of deals announced in the live entertainment sector. Here is a breakdown of some of those investments in reverse chronological order:
1. Providence-backed ATG Entertainment enters Spain with Som Produce deal
Kicking off 2025, Providence Equity Partners-backed ATG Entertainment acquired Som Produce, a theater producer, operator and distributor in Spain. The deal was announced in early January.
Madrid-based Som sells over 750,000 tickets annually and is one of the largest global producers and distributors of musicals and plays in the Spanish language, according to a release. It has produced over 20 shows including Matilda, Mamma Mia!, Billy Elliot, The Book of Mormon, West Side Story, Grease, Chicago, Cabaret and Priscilla Queen of the Desert. It also produces and tours a range of theater titles throughout Spain.
2. Allied-backed CES Power scoops up movie industry equipment provider Base Capital
In December, CES Power, which is backed by Allied Industrial Partners, acquired Base Craft, a Kansas City, Missouri-based provider of specialty services and equipment for the motion picture industry.
Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, CES Power is a provider of infrastructure for live events.
3. KKR brings in CVC to back Superstruct Entertainment’s growth
In October, CVC Capital Partners invested alongside KKR to support Superstruct, a premier live entertainment group.
Superstruct owns and operates over 80 music festivals across 10 countries in Europe and Australia. It owns European events such as Wacken Open Air, Defqon.1, Parookaville, Tinderbox, Zwarte Cross and Sónar.
KKR announced the acquisition of Superstruct in June.
4. Silver Lake-backed Endeavour sells IMG Live Events to TKO
Also in October, TKO, a sports and entertainment company, agreed to acquire Professional Bull Riders, On Location and IMG from Endeavour Group Holdings, which is backed by Silver Lake Capital, for $3.25 billion.
5. Shamrock backs event management and marketing firm Nth Degree
Shamrock Capital in September invested in Nth Degree, an Atlanta-based event management and experiential marketing company.
6. Investindustrial to acquire RCF Group
Investindustrial in August agreed to acquire RCF Group.
RCF produces professional loudspeakers for large-scale concerts and installations, such as stadiums and arenas, portable loudspeakers for small events and medium-sized installations, and loudspeakers for recreational, commercial and public facilities. The business is headquartered in Reggio Emilia, Italy.
In 2023, RCF reached a turnover of approximately €250 million, with the majority of revenue generated outside of Italy, according to a press statement.
7. Goldman Sachs buys entertainment provider TAIT from Providence
Goldman Sachs announced that it was acquiring a majority stake in TAIT, a Pennsylvania-based provider of advanced creative and engineering products to the live entertainment industry, in July. The seller was Providence Equity Partners.
TAIT’s credits includes the Superbowl half-time, theme parks, concerts, World Expo pavilions and Olympic Opening ceremonies.
8. Ardian to exit majority stake in Audiotonix to PAI Partners
In April, Ardian agreed to sell a majority stake in Audiotonix, an audio mixing and engineering business, to PAI Partners. Ardian will retain a minority stake alongside management.
The transaction was valued at just under £2 billion ($2.5 billion; €2.3 billion), according to a source familiar with the matter.
Chessington, UK-based Audiotonix’s products have been used by artists such as Coldplay and U2, at sporting events including the Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup, and in venues like the Sphere in Las Vegas. Its portfolio of brands include Allen & Heath, DiGiCo, Calrec, Solid State Logic, Sound Devices, Slate Digital and sonible.
9. Allied-backed Celebrity Coaches snaps up entertainment coach leasing firm
In April, Celebrity Coaches, which is backed by Allied Industrial Partners, acquired Moonstruck Leasing, a Nashville-based entertainment coach leasing company.
Celebrity is a provider of transportation and logistics for the live events and entertainment sector.
Allied Industrial bought Celebrity Coaches in March.
10. Allied-backed CES Power picks up ABird/Apex
Before CES’ later investment, it acquired ABird/Apex in March.
ABird/Apex offers integrated portable power generators used to power industrial sites and live events, including music festivals, sporting competitions and corporate meetings. The company is based in Manchester.
The acquisition will expand CES Global’s capacity in the UK and Ireland while helping to accelerate its growth across Europe, according to a press release.
PE Hub expects to see more live entertainment investment deals in the coming months, as the market drivers that led to these deals are still present.