Reports suggest Silver Lake is looking at sale of TEG

USA-based private equity firm Silver Lake has been reported as look at the sale of its Australian-based ticketing and live entertainment business TEG.

According to reports in The Australian and the Australian Financial Review (AFR), the technology, sport and entertainment investor, which also has stakes in New Zealand Rugby and Australia’s A-Leagues, has been discussing sales strategies for TEG with investment banks looking find who may be interested in acquiring the business.

With Ticketek prospering in the post pandemic economy as consumers return to live events, the  AFR suggested that TEG is “likely to attract interest from other buyout groups, most of who are flush with cash and desperately seeking investments, although Silver Lake’s best chance of a big pay day would be to secure another global-focused events group”.

Formerly owned by Nine Entertainment, Silver Lake acquired TEG in late 2019 from pan-Asian investment firm, Affinity Equity Partners, in a deal worth around $US1.3 billion.

It then sold a minority stake to Sydney private equity firm Mercury Capital.

With TEG impacted by the lockdown of  live entertainment during the pandemic, it has undertaken a number of acquisitions under Silver Lake’s ownership, including stakes in theatre company Michael Cassel Group and Laneway Festival as well as expanding in Europe.

With offices in Silicon Valley, California and New York, USA Silver Lake’s other investments include Madison Square Garden, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Dell Technologies and the Alibaba Group.

Image credit: Ticketek.