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Munich/Milan, 11 September 2017. CTS EVENTIM, one of the leading international providers of ticketing services and live entertainment, is acquiring 51% of the shares in Vertigo, the Italian promoter of concerts and events. By making this acquisition, CTS EVENTIM is continuing to broaden its international scope and now has a presence in Italy with its Live Entertainment segment. The company already owns Ticketone, one of the leading ticketing providers in that country.
Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, CEO of CTS EVENTIM, commented, “Italy is already one of the most important markets for our company. So entering the Live Entertainment segment there is a logical step in our ongoing internationalisation. I am all the more delighted by the fact that, by acquiring the stake in Vertigo, we are also taking on board a highly creative, fast-growing and superbly managed promoter.”
Vertigo was established by two brothers, Andrea and Stefano Pieroni. Both have many years of experience in the live entertainment business, including stints as managers at Live Nation Italy. Andrea Pieroni is the historical promoter of legendary international acts such as Iron Maiden, Metallica and David Gilmour. He also invented the world famous “Gods of Metal” festival, the main Italian rock/metal event which was exclusively booked and promoted by Andrea Pieroni from its inception in 1997 to the final edition in 2016.
Frithjof Pils, Managing Director of Medusa Music Group at CTS EVENTIM, said, “The Italian live entertainment market offers us some excellent perspectives thanks to its creative diversity and high levels of demand. We want to extend our position there in the years ahead. The Vertigo takeover is the perfect launching pad, not least because we will benefit from the experience and the network of the Pieroni brothers.”
Andrea Pieroni, CEO of Vertigo, added, “The partnership with CTS EVENTIM is a milestone for Vertigo and will help us take the next step forwards in our development. We want to enlarge our portfolio even further over the next few years and offer a creative and service-centred base to different styles of artists from Italy and abroad. The fact that CTS EVENTIM will be supporting us from now on with its resources and its unique expertise is an enormous boost for our team and our partners.”
Andrea and Stefano Pieroni will continue to manage Vertigo from Milan. CTS EVENTIM will have two seats on the Vertigo Management Board and will fully consolidate the company within its Medusa Music Group. This transaction, already finalised, means that live events are now promoted by the member companies of said Group in a total of eight countries, with Italy being added to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands. In the Ticketing segment, CTS EVENTIM has activities in 25 countries.
About CTS EVENTIM
CTS EVENTIM is one of the leading international providers of ticketing services and live entertainment. More than 150 million tickets for over 200,000 events are marketed annually using the company’s systems – be it through stationary box offices, online or from mobile devices. Its online portals operate under brands such as eventim.de, oeticket.com, ticketcorner.ch, ticketone.it and entradas.com. The EVENTIM Group also includes many concert, tour and festival promoter companies for events like “Rock am Ring”, “Rock im Park”, “Hurricane” and “Southside”. Some of Europe’s most renowned venues are operated by CTS EVENTIM, for example the LANXESS arena in Cologne, the Waldbühne in Berlin and the EVENTIM Apollo in London. CTS EVENTIM AG & Co. KGaA (ISIN DE 0005470306) has been listed on the stock exchange since 2000 and is currently a member of the MDAX segment. In 2016, its 2,384-strong workforce generated a total of 830 million Euro in revenues in 25 countries.
About Vertigo
Vertigo was founded by Andrea Pieroni, one of Italy’s leading concert promoters and a 25+ year industry veteran. Alter Bridge, Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, Imagine Dragons, Kings of Leon, Marylin Manson, Slayer and Sunrise Avenue are just some of the artists for whom tours have been organised by Vertigo in recent years. Originally specialised in the international hard ’n heavy music scene, Vertigo also promotes local artists to an increasing extent, such as Afterhours, hip-hopper Caparezza and the rock band Negrita, all of whom will be on tour in the next few months. The main international acts in Vertigo’s 2017/18 indoor season will be Alice Cooper, Europe, Helloween, HIM, Stone Sour and many more.
