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Munich/Ivry, 24 July 2019. CTS EVENTIM, one of the world's leading providers of ticketing and live entertainment, is striving to significantly strengthen its position in France by acquiring a stake in the ticketing market leader France Billet. CTS EVENTIM and Fnac Darty (owner of France Billet) have started exclusive negotiations on a strategic partnership for their French ticketing activities. The project will be presented to the relevant employee representatives in the coming weeks. CTS EVENTIM and Fnac Darty plan to close the transaction by the end of this year.
Under the proposed agreement, CTS EVENTIM would acquire 48 percent of the shares in France Billet, the ticketing subsidiary of Fnac Darty. At the same time, CTS EVENTIM would contribute its existing activities in France to the partnership. CTS EVENTIM also has the option to acquire a majority stake four years from the date of the closing of the transaction.
CTS EVENTIM CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg commented: “By partnering with Fnac Darty, we seek to create a company that offers its customers attractive services, a powerful platform, and a wide range of offerings. At the same time, we intend to use this investment to significantly strengthen our market position in an economically attractive and culturally diverse market. I look forward to our further discussions with Fnac Darty.”
The joint venture will continue to do business as France Billet under the new ownership structure. The plan is to keep the established retail brands. In addition to francebillet.com, these include eventim.fr, fnacspectacles.com and billetreduc.com, which was acquired by France Billet in the first quarter of this year.
Enrique Martinez, CEO of Fnac Darty, added: “We are very pleased with this project with CTS Eventim, which is part of our process of implementing our Confiance+ strategic plan and rolling out our platform to partners who are experts in their field. In a rapidly changing market, this value-creating partnership would pave the way for new avenues of development for France Billet, now backed by two major players, and would strengthen its offer and its innovative capacities in a competitive sector. France Billet would take advantage of the know-how and strength of the Fnac brand as well as CTS EVENTIM’s expertise and importance.”
As a minority shareholder, CTS EVENTIM would initially account for its shareholding in France Billet at equity. In the event that the call option can be exercised four years later, this opens up the possibility of full consolidation. In any case, Fnac Darty envisages a long-term and strategic interest in France Billet.
About CTS EVENTIM
CTS EVENTIM is one of the leading international providers of Ticketing and Live Entertainment. In 2018, approx. 250 million tickets were marketed using the company’s systems – through stationary box offices, online or mobile. 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’, ‘Southside’, and ‘Lucca Summer’. In addition, 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 SDAX segment. In 2018, its 3,141-strong workforce generated more than 1.2 billion Euros in revenue in 21 countries.
About Fnac Darty
Operating in twelve countries, Fnac Darty is a European leader in the retail of entertainment and leisure products, consumer electronics and household appliances. The group counts 25,000 employees and, as of the end of 2018, has a multi-format network of 780 stores, including 571 in France. Fnac Darty is France’s second e-commerce player in terms of traffic (near 20 million aggregated unique visitors per month) with its two retail websites, fnac.com and darty.com. A standard-setting omni-channel retailer, Fnac Darty posted pro forma revenues of €7.475 billion in 2018.
