The Beverly Hills-based ticket sales and live entertainment company announced Sept. 13 that it would proceed with plans to take a 51% controlling interest in OCESA from Mexican media companies Grupo CIE and Grupo Televisa.
Live Nation initially announced plans for the purchase of the Latin American concert promoter in July 2019. It paused the transaction due to the pandemic and now expects to close the deal by early 2022.
The news comes on the heels of strong second-quarter earnings for Live Nation.
Event-related income is up $650 million to $2.1 billion as concertgoers return in massive numbers, despite fears of the Covid-19 delta variant.
Chief Executive Michael Rapino in August said he expects more than 6 million fans to attend Live Nation festivals in the second half of the year.
The OCESA acquisition advances Live Nation’s goal of building its global live entertainment platform. It will fold events like Corona Capital and Pal Norte, which have featured artists such as Tame Impala and Foo Fighters, into the Live Nation portfolio.
OCESA promotes more than 3,100 events annually across Mexico and Colombia, with businesses in ticketing, sponsorship, food and beverage, merchandise, and venue operation. Its primary ticketing business, Ticketmaster Mexico, sells approximately 20,000 tickets annually. The company previously served as a core partner with Live Nation on music festival EDC Mexico.
“After serving as Live Nation’s touring, festival and ticketing partner in Mexico for years, we know OCESA is a stellar business with deep roots in live entertainment in Mexico,” said Rapino. “As we continue to build on the return to live, OCESA will play a pivotal role in putting together many incredible shows in Mexico and the rest of Latin America.”
As part of the transaction, Live Nation also acquired an interest in OCESA’s booking and artist management joint venture Ocesa Seitrack; Mexican special and corporate event specialists ICREA; and Centro Citibanamex, an exhibition and convention center in Mexico City.
If the deal is approved, Live Nation will acquire a 40% stake in OCESA from Grupo Televisa and another 11% from CIE, which will hold the remaining 49%, according to The Wall Street Journal.
