The Paris-headquartered Vivendi is reportedly looking to sell its subsidiary See Tickets.
According to Sky News, Vivendi is working with advisors on a process that is expected to “kick-off imminently.” While nothing has been confirmed by Vivendi or See Tickets at this time, it’s no surprise that the live entertainment industry has been soaring; in 2022, the ticketing site sold 39 million tickets compared to 25 million in 2019.
Additionally, the potential disinvestment would also extend to Vivendi Village’s See Tickets, which operates 11 festivals including Love Supreme, Kite, and Garorock. Vivendi Village’s other operations, including Paris’ L’Olympia venue and a cinema chain in Africa, will reportedly not be affected.
See Tickets was purchased by Vivendi for just under $135 million back in 2011, a solid move for the entertainment conglomerate, which also owns the major-label record company Universal Music Group.
Earlier this year, Vivendi reported that its revenues increased to €2.29 billion in the first quarter of 2023 and revenues were up 3.3% compared to the first quarter of 2022. Vivendi Village’s revenues were also up by 20% compared to the first quarter of the year prior with €33 million.
Sources told Sky News Vivendi concluded that See Tickets nor Vivendi Village could live-up to industry giants like Live Nation, Ticketmaster, and AEG. It’s unknown if any of these entities would be interested in purchasing See Tickets, though this year alone, Live Nation acquired the Hong Kong-based event organizer Clockenflap, as well as Colombia’s leading promoter Paramo Presenta,
See Tickets made headlines earlier this month after announcing a data breach that impacted over 300,000 customers. The ticketer said that unauthorized parties were able to access checkout pages, gaining access to customer names, addresses, and payment card information from February through July 2023.
