Fnac Darty starts exclusive negotiations on strategic ticketing partnership with the CTS EVENTIM Group
| Ivry, July 24, 2019 |
Fnac Darty starts exclusive negotiations on strategic ticketing partnership with the CTS EVENTIM Group
Fnac Darty has announced that it has started exclusive negotiations on a strategic partnership with the CTS EVENTIM Group, the European leader in ticketing.
Following the acquisition of Billetreduc.com in the first quarter of 2019, Fnac Darty plans to boost France Billet's development through a partnership with a leading player in Europe. As a result, France Billet will be able to count on the technological innovations of CTS EVENTIM, accelerating the development of its digital platform and allowing it to offer more in terms of value to its customers and partners. CTS EVENTIM will accordingly include in its French offerings the distribution of show tickets in France, a leading market in Europe.
This strategic partnership would be reinforced by the acquisition of share capital:
France Billet would acquire 100% of the capital of CTS EVENTIM France.
CTS EVENTIM would acquire a 48% minority stake in France Billet, which would remain under Fnac Darty's control. At the end of a 4-year period, CTS EVENTIM would have the option of increasing its share to a majority stake.
Fnac Darty wishes to retain a long-term interest in France Billet, which is a strategic asset for the Group.
France Billet would thus be able to count on the support of the Fnac Darty Group, the European leader in omni-channel retail, and on the expertise of CTS EVENTIM, the European leading player in ticketing, representing more than €1 billion in revenue and more than 250 million tickets sold in 2018. This partnership would reinforce Fnac’s historic role as a distributor of show tickets online and in stores, through the Fnac Spectacles brand, by capitalizing on the investments and acquisitions made over the last two years.
Enrique Martinez, Chief Executive Officer of Fnac Darty, says: "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 the strength of the Fnac brand as well as CTS EVENTIM’s expertise and importance”.
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 strengthen our market position in an economically attractive and culturally diverse market. I look forward to our further discussions with Fnac Darty."
This project will be presented to the employee representative bodies with the aim of finalizing the operation by the end of 2019.
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 (nearly 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.
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 in revenue in 21 countries.
CONTACTS
| ANALYSTS / INVESTORS | Stéphanie Constand | +33 (0)1 55 21 18 63 |
| Marina Louvard | +33 (0) 172 28 17 08 | |
| PRESS | Audrey Bouchard | +33 (0)1 55 21 59 25 |
| Claire Fournon | +33 (0)1 55 21 57 10 |
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