Private equity outfit CVC has bought a stake in festival owner Superstruct Entertainment, which was acquired by investment firm KKR earlier this year.
CVC hasn’t declared the size or value of its stake in the company which operates events like Sonar, Benicàssim, Sziget, Bluedot and Boardmasters. It simply says it’s investing “alongside KKR” to support the festival company’s “next phase of development as one of the world’s premiere live entertainment groups”.
The investment, it adds, “positions Superstruct to accelerate its mission of creating best-in-class live experiences, working closely with entrepreneurs, creative visionaries and business-minded professionals”, while “driving innovation and setting the standards for live entertainment”.
Superstruct was set up by equity firm Providence and Cream founder and former Live Nation exec James Barton in 2017, going on to acquire a significant portfolio of events, so that it now runs 80 music festivals across nine European countries and Australia, with a potential reach of seven million attendees each year.
It was reported that Providence was plotting a sale of the festivals business last year, in a bid to capitalise on the post-COVID bounce back at the upper end of the live music market. The sales process formally began in April, with CVC tipped as a possible bidder at the time. The KKR deal - reported to be worth €1.3 billion - was then announced in June.
The statement announcing CVC’s investment says that, as a result of the deal, “Superstruct gains another strong strategic partner to support the talented team who have led the company’s growth and success”. The festivals business, it adds, will now have access to the “global expertise, resources and capital of two leading investors with significant experience across the media and entertainment sector”.
