TEG’s Geoff Jones talks expansion into U.K. and Europe: It’s the ‘logical next step’

It’s full-steam ahead for Ticketek-owner TEG, which plans to expand further into Asia and across the globe following its acquisition by Silver Lake.

Speaking to trade journalists in a conference call Tuesday afternoon, TEG CEO Geoff Jones said Europe would be the next big push for the sprawling empire, which spans ticketing, live entertainment and technology.

“We have a really good model which we’ve developed in Australia and New Zealand, what we call the TEG-integrated model. We’re evolving that really well in Asia,” Jones tells TIO.

“The logical next step for us is to take that model into the U.K. and Europe as our next field we want to play in and continue to grow what we do.”

Qudos Bank Arena

Silver Lake, a U.S.-based private equity company which specialises in technology investments, last week announced its purchase of TEG from Affinity Equity Partners, for a price tag estimated at well over one billion dollars.

The 20-year-old California company has more than $43 billion invested across its portfolio, including Madison Square Garden Company and UFC, business we’ll “get to know,” Jones said.

For the foreseeable future, TEG will continue to roll out its model in Asia and Europe “at a pace” both through acquisitions and partnerships, and there’s a solid plan for its ticketing giant.

“We have a very strong and globally known brand in Ticketek that we want to expand into different territories,” Jones tells TIO.

Next up, the U.K. where TEG recently tested the waters with the purchase of a The MJR Group, a live company that promotes and operates more than 2,000 shows each year, and boasts a four-strong portfolio of venues.

Dan Ickowitz-Seidler (MJR), Geoff Jones (TEG) and Richard Buck (MJR)

“The next market is going to be the U.K. early next year,” Jones says of Ticketek, which currently operates in Australasia, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. “We’ll take a careful approach,” he says. Further acquisitions there are on the cards.

Based in Sydney, TEG’s interests also include TEG Live, Qudos Bank Arena, Eventopia, and TEG Dainty, Paul Dainty’s concert and events promotion company which it acquired in 2016.

For TEG Dainty and TEG Live, it’s business as usual. Indeed, Jones expects its live content businesses to produce “even more than they currently do in Australia and New Zealand.”

But there’s no plan to pursue additional arenas. “Never say never,” was his assessment.

Drilling down on the MJR Group alliance, Jones was upbeat. “They’re trading really well, they’ve got a real spring in their step, they have a high velocity of tours that are going to market,” he enthused.

“What’s come with that acquisition has been a lot of inbound interest for us from other companies wanting to talk to us about potentially partnering in some way.”

TEG sells tickets to events in more than 13 territories, and has already shifted a “couple million tickets” in the U.K., Jones explains, through its exhibitions activities and family content.

The Silver Lake deal is expected to close later this year. But first, it’ll need approval by the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.