TEG, the Australia-based ticketing and live events promoter and owner of Ticketek, has announced a strategic investment from U.S-based investment firm Silver Lake, which is expected to close this year, pending final conditions including approval by the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board.

Terms of the deal, which were rumored to be at a figure at or around $1 billion when the potential partnership was first reported as being in final stages, have not been released.

TEG is the exclusive ticketing provider for over 135 venue and promoter clients, according to a press release sent out to announce the deal. It delivers 30 million tickets for over 30,000 sports, theatre, concert, festival and exhibition events in 13 countries. The senior management team, including CEO Geoff Jones, will continue to lead the company under this new structure once the deal is complete.

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“High quality live sports and entertainment content is more sought after now than ever and represents a massive global addressable market for the company. We believe TEG’s innovative and integrated ticketing, content, digital marketing and analytics platform is well positioned to continue to benefit from increasing consumer demand worldwide,” said Stephen Evans, Managing Director at Silver Lake. “We’ve been impressed by TEG’s long-term track record of growth under Geoff Jones, most recently in partnership with the Affinity team, both organically and through strategic acquisitions. We’re excited to partner with Geoff and the entire TEG team and invest further to leverage TEG’s platform and accelerate the company’s growth, both in Asia Pacific and globally.”

Silver Lake is no stranger to the ticketing and entertainment world, having already invested in several companies operating in the space. It currently has holdings including Endeavor, the entertainment giant which just recently halted a planned IPO, UFC, The Madison Square Garden Company, Learfield/IMG College, and Oak View Group. Recently, the company was rumored to be among the short list of interested parties in the potential sale of StubHub by parent company eBay.

TEG brings a suite of ticketing and event promotion expertise to the company portfolio, as well as venue management, data analytics, and marketing services.

“The team at [former owner] Affinity have been great partners for us over the last four years and have helped us to continue to scale our business,” said Geoff Jones, CEO of TEG. “We are confident that Silver Lake is the right partner for the next stage of the company’s growth. Silver Lake brings us deep technology expertise as well as important global entertainment content and live events expertise and relationships which will help us to accelerate the growth of our platform globally.”

The full release on the deal is included below:

TEG Announces Strategic Investment by Silver Lake

Leading Live Entertainment and Ticketing Platform Acquired from Affinity Partnership with Silver Lake Accelerates TEG’s Technology Innovation and International Expansion

SYDNEY – 4 Oct. 2019 – TEG, Asia Pacific’s leading live entertainment and ticketing company, and Silver Lake, the global leader in  technology investing, today announced that Silver Lake has signed a definitive agreement to acquire TEG from funds advised by Affinity Equity Partners (S) Pte Ltd and its affiliates. TEG’s senior management team, led by CEO Geoff Jones, will continue to lead the company and remain meaningful equity partners in the new ownership structure.

With over 40 years of experience in ticketing and live entertainment, TEG operates as the exclusive ticketing provider for over 135 venue and promoter clients and delivers 30 million tickets annually for over 30,000 events spanning live sports, concerts, theatre, festivals, and exhibitions across more than 13 countries.

TEG’s integrated live entertainment platform combines ticketing and event promotion, venue management, data analytics and marketing services. TEG promotes over 100 diverse events annually: its TEG Live and TEG Dainty divisions have promoted some of the world’s biggest names in live sports and entertainment including Hugh Jackman, Guns N’ Roses, Eminem, Katy Perry, Cirque du Soleil, Jerry Seinfeld, the Brazil national football team, and the breakthrough Australian debut of Intel Extreme Masters esports.

“The team at Affinity have been great partners for us over the last four years and have helped us to continue to scale our business,” said Geoff Jones, CEO of TEG. “We are confident that Silver Lake is the right partner for the next stage of the company’s growth. Silver Lake brings us deep technology expertise as well as important global entertainment content and live events expertise and relationships which will help us to accelerate the growth of our platform globally.”

“High quality live sports and entertainment content is more sought after now than ever and represents a massive global addressable market for the company. We believe TEG’s innovative and integrated ticketing, content, digital marketing and analytics platform is well positioned to continue to benefit from increasing consumer demand worldwide,” said Stephen Evans, Managing Director at Silver Lake. “We’ve been impressed by TEG’s long-term track record of growth under Geoff Jones, most recently in partnership with the Affinity team, both organically and through strategic acquisitions. We’re excited to partner with Geoff and the entire TEG team and invest further to leverage TEG’s platform and accelerate the company’s growth, both in Asia Pacific and globally.”

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close later this year and is subject to customary closing conditions including approval by the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board.

TEG was advised on this transaction by Goldman Sachs and King & Wood Mallesons. Silver Lake was advised by Latham & Watkins and Corrs Chambers Westgarth.

About TEG

TEG is at the heart of the live event experience for millions of fans. The company operates worldwide out of six country offices, with its corporate headquarters in Sydney, Australia. The dynamic and integrated group promotes live sports and entertainment, provides essential ticketing, technology and e-commerce services and is a major player in data science and analytics, digital marketing and customer research. For more information about TEG and its services, please visit: www.teg.com.au.

About Silver Lake

Silver Lake is the global leader in technology investing, with over US$43 billion in combined assets under management and committed capital and a team of approximately 100 investment and value creation professionals located in Silicon Valley, New York, London and Hong Kong. Silver Lake’s portfolio of investments collectively generates more than $210 billion of revenue annually and employs 370,000 people globally. For more information about Silver Lake and its portfolio, please visit www.silverlake.com.

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