Vivid Seats announced its acquisition of Fanxchange on Thursday afternoon, having picked up the Toronto-based company for a price of $60 million, per a press release. The deal is the first for Vivid Seats, which saw former Grubhub executive Stan Chia take over as CEO in the fall of 2018.
“Vivid Seats is constantly exploring new ways to delivery more of the unparalleled joy of live events that has fueled our success to date,” Chia said in the release. “With Fanxchange, their focus on servicing the live event ticketing needs of distribution partners is an important compliment to the consumer marketplace that we’ve built to date.
“We are thrilled to add their talented team and robust B2B platform, ultimately connecting more fans, sellers, and partners with superior technology and the best marketplace experience.”
Fanxchange, founded in 2009 by Brandon Koffler and Shawn Brookes, focuses on B2B, enterprise and distribution in the ticketing space. It focuses on surfacing tickets across platforms where consumers are already engaging in content and commerce, according to the release. Koffler and Brookes will stay on with the existing team in Toronto, leading the enterprise and distribution vertical.
“Since 2009, we have focused on building a company and platform driven by innovation,” Koffler says. “With access to Vivid Seats’ infrastructure, resources and scale, we can rapidly accelerate our growth in enterprise and distribution. We’re very excited about this opportunity.”
