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Mari, Ari Emanuel’s new global events and experiences company, has agreed to acquire U.K.-based theater giant ATG Entertainment from Providence Equity Partners in a multibillion-dollar deal.
ATG operates a total of 70
venues across the U.K., U.S., Germany and Spain, including 10 on London’s West End and seven on Broadway, with its business also spanning production and ticketing. ATG’s theaters have hosted landmark productions including “Wicked,” “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” and “The Lion King,” and welcome over 18 million theatergoers each year.
Though financial details of the deal were not disclosed, the Wall Street Journal reported that it’s worth $6 billion. The acquisition will be subject to regulatory approval and the two companies will operate independently until then.
“I’ve spent my whole career in entertainment, and I started out in theater,” Emanuel said in a statement. “I’ve seen the industry reinvent itself many times, but live has only grown more powerful. Nothing connects great talent with audiences more directly. ATG has built one of the world’s great theater businesses around that experience. This is a long-term bet on where live goes next.”
Added Melanie Smith, global CEO of ATG Entertainment: “Mari understands live entertainment and what matters most to ATG: our theaters, the people behind them and the relationships we have built with producers, artists and audiences. That makes Mari the right home for our next chapter. We look forward to this new era and thank Providence for their unwavering support over the past 13 years.”
Mari’s current portfolio includes Frieze, Barrett-Jackson, the Miami Open, the Mutua Madrid Open, Hyde Park Winter Wonderland and the Hampton Court Palace and Blenheim Palace Festivals. Following the deal’s approval, Mari intends “act as a long-term custodian of ATG’s theaters, investing in their preservation and modernization alongside an improved audience experience and support for new
productions, to the benefit of theatergoers and producers alike,” according to a press release, which added that ATG will “continue under its existing brand and leadership and retain its commitment to creative independence.”
