Ticketing platform Eventbrite revealed news earlier this week of a $225 million investment from Francisco Partners to help fund the company’s long-term growth.
The announcement follows news of Eventbrite’s 2020 Quarter 1 revenue report, which showed that in the company brought in a revenue of $49.1 million during the first quarter, including $19.1 million increase in refunded ticket fees. However, the company’s net loss was $146.5 million, compared to a loss of $10 million during the same period last year. Over $100 million of charges and reserve increases were due to the impact of COVID-19.
In order to stay on track and better position itself in the future, Eventbrite launched a reduction program to deliver $100 million in annualized cost savings by the fourth quarter of 2020, as well as announcing the credit facility with San Francisco Partners – something that will allow greater flexibility in recovery outcomes.
Peter Christodoulo, Partner at Francisco Partners, noted in a press release that “the founders and team at Eventbrite have built one of the most technologically advanced digital ticketing and experiences platforms in the world.”
“We are thrilled to partner with them as they reaccelerate their growth strategy and further their commitment to event creators as a leading provider in the sector,” Chrisoduolo said.
Eventbrite CEO and co-founder Julia Hartz explained that during this time, the world has changed through the coronavirus pandemic “and the live experience industry must adapt in response to the new normal.”
“This moment in time is marked by the resilience and ingenuity of the event creators and ticket buyers we serve,” Hartz said in the release. “Our sole focus is supporting our professional customers, many of whom are small businesses. The flexible financing from Francisco Partners will help us fund our growth strategy and emerge from this crisis as a market leader. Together, we will move through this turbulent time to bring people together for live experiences once again.”
