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Munich/Cologne/Düsseldorf 3 December 2021. CTS EVENTIM, one of the world’s leading ticketing and live entertainment providers, is acquiring the regional ticketing providers Kölnticket and Bonnticket. The Rhineland region is a major economic powerhouse and the acquisition will enable CTS EVENTIM to further expand its service offering in this area. The providers previously belonged to the media houses Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger Medien in Cologne and Rheinische Post Mediengruppe in Düsseldorf, and in recent years had already partnered successfully with CTS EVENTIM in the areas of ticketing software and platform technology.
Kölnticket and Bonnticket are well-known brands in the Rhineland and give CTS EVENTIM a large presence in the region as well as numerous contacts – venues, artists and promoters – in the local entertainment scene.
Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, CEO of CTS EVENTIM, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Kölnticket and Bonnticket as the newest additions to the CTS EVENTIM family. As the operator of the LANXESS arena in Cologne, we are well aware of how much potential this vibrant region has for holding events of all kinds. By making this acquisition, we are ensuring that the providers permanently retain their regional focus and that fans and promoters can continue to rely on their top ticketing service despite the pandemic situation.”
For Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger Medien, the sale is a further important milestone in their forward-looking strategy: “It will allow us to focus even more on our core brands and really push forward their use of digital technologies. We enjoy a long-standing and very successful partnership with CTS EVENTIM and are confident that our regional ticketing business will be in good hands with Germany’s market leader in this segment,” says Christian V. Kirschner, CFO of Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger Medien. “And we would like to maintain this close relationship going forward – for example as part of regional collaborations.”
The Rheinische Post Mediengruppe sees its growth opportunities in the regional media business and in digitalisation. “We believe that our long-standing partner CTS EVENTIM provides the best ownership solution for the successful development of our ticketing activities going forward. And we will continue the partnership in future through the provision of media services. We wish the new owner, CTS EVENTIM, the Derticketservice management team, with its Kölnticket and Bonnticket brands, and the employees the greatest of success,” adds Thorsten Greschner, commercial manager of Rheinische Post.
About CTS EVENTIM
CTS EVENTIM is one of the leading international providers of ticketing services and live entertainment. Before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, around 250 million tickets per annum were marketed using the Company’s systems, including physical box offices, online portals and mobile terminals. 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 promoters for events like Rock am Ring, Rock im Park, Hurricane, Southside and Lucca Summer. In addition, CTS EVENTIM operates some of Europe’s most renowned venues, for example the LANXESS Arena in Cologne, the K.B. Hallen in Copenhagen, 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. Against a backdrop of forced closures, cancellations and restrictions on events as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the Group generated revenue totalling €256.8 million in 21 countries in 2020 compared with more than €1.4 billion in the year before.
