Munich, 19 February 2010. CTS EVENTIM AG, listed on the SDAX exchange (ISIN DE0005470306), is continuing its successful international expansion and is acquiring 100% of the Swiss Ticketcorner Holding AG. The contracts were signed this Friday in Zurich.
Ticketcorner is the undisputed market leader in Switzerland, with a 60% share of the ticketing market. In the 2009 business year, the company sold a total of around 9.3 million tickets and generated net sales of approximately CHF 35 million (around EUR 24 million), a normalised EBITDA of just under CHF 9.7 million (EUR 6.6 million, after adjustment for non-recurrent effects and after taking restructuring measures into account on a pro forma basis), and a reported EBITDA of around CHF 6.5 million (EUR 4.4 million).
CTS EVENTIM is paying CHF 65 million (around EUR 44 million) to the former owner, a consortium that includes CAPVIS, the private equity firm. As a result of the takeover, Ticketcorner can now avail of the entire EVENTIM IT infrastructure. This will produce synergies in the order of millions. EVENTIM is Europe’s leading ticketing platform, providing a unique range of services for ticket sellers and people seeking information relating to any aspect of live entertainment.
In December 2009, CTS EVENTIM agreed the formation of a joint venture with Ringier AG, the biggest private media company in Switzerland. In future, all ticketing activities in Switzerland are to be pooled in a single joint venture.
CTS EVENTIM is Europe’s market leader in the ticketing field and one of the leading providers of Live Entertainment. More than 70 million tickets for well over 100,000 events are sold annually using systems developed and marketed by the EVENTIM Group. In addition to more than 8,000 stationary box offices throughout Europe, sales via the Internet and especially via the www.eventim.de and www.getgo.de. portals are gaining increasing importance. In the 2008 business year, CTS EVENTIM generated EUR 404 million in revenue, an EBIT of EUR 50.3 million and Group net income of EUR 29.2 million.
The CTS EVENTIM Group expects to publish its preliminary figures for the 2009 business year in Week 8.