Nine Live/Ticketek sold for $640 million

Nine Entertainment is selling its Nine Live tour and events division, which includes the ticketing business Ticketek,to Asian private equity firm Affinity Equity Partners for $640 million.

Nine Liveworks in the music, sports, exhibitions and cultural sphere, and was behind One Direction’s tour earlier this year.

Nine Entertainment CEO David Gyngell said the sale would give Nine it more flexibility and was of benefit to shareholders.

“Nine Live has grown strongly under NEC ownership for the past six years,” he said. “The team, led by Geoff Jones, have done a remarkable job expanding the business into touring and events and, more recently, into international sports and exhibitions.”

He added, “With the sale of Nine Live, our focus now is on optimising the performance of our free-to-air TV, digital and subscription streaming businesses and maximising returns to our shareholders.”

Brett Sutton, head of Australia & New Zealand at the Asian private equity firm, stated: “Affinity is excited to invest in Australia’s leading live events and ticketing company. Nine Live is an excellent company with strong management and has the capacity for significant growth throughout the region, which aligns with Affinity’s investment strategy.

“Affinity looks forward to partnering with Nine Live to explore opportunities for expansion while maintaining Nine Live’s outstanding track record of customer service.”

Nine Live CEO, Geoff Jones, said in a statement: "We operate in a dynamic industry sector which has abundant opportunities for further growth and I look forward to working with the team at Affinity Equity Partners to explore these opportunities for expansion both domestically and regionally.

"[…]I am also pleased that our strong, mutually-beneficial relationship with the Nine Entertainment Co. will be maintained across the business moving forward when the sale is completed on 31 July, 2015.”

All commercial deals struck by Nine Livewhile at Nine will continue under Affinity Equity. This includes its recent joint venture with New Zealand’s radio and TV company MediaWorks, as announced in TMN, that will see the radio and TV company expand into live entertainment. It will initially focus on music, theatre and exhibition events under entertainment professional Tracy Magan.