Office of Fair Trading Approves £90m ATG Deal

Over three months since it was first announced (See News, 3 Nov 2009), the Ambassador Theatre Group’s £90 million acquisition of Live Nation’s UK theatre portfolio of 16 venues has been approved by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), who confirmed today that the deal will not be referred to the Competition Commission.

The announcement comes after a review by the OFT into whether the acquisition would create any competition concerns. The merger clearance means that ATG can now fully integrate the two businesses, taking its portfolio of theatres to 39.

Howard Panter, ATG’s joint CEO and creative director said: “We are pleased with the outcome of the OFT review.  We firmly believe that the transaction is of real benefit to theatregoers in the UK and for the theatre industry in general.”

Rosemary Squire, Panter’s wife and ATG’s joint chief executive said: “The OFT announcement is wonderful news and a great way to start the new decade.  We’d like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding during the OFT review and we now look forward to fully integrating the two businesses over the coming months.”  

The complete list of Live Nation theatres being acquired are: the
Edinburgh Playhouse; the Auditorium, Grimsby; Liverpool Empire; Bristol
Hippodrome; The Palace Theatre and The Opera House, Manchester;
Southport Theatre; Sunderland Empire; Grand Opera House, York;
Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham; Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone; the New
Theatre and the Old Fire Station, Oxford; the Princess Theatre, Torquay
and the Lyceum and Apollo Victoria Theatre, London.

The acquisition makes 17-year-old ATG the country’s biggest theatre
owner (and producer), with
a combined business value of £150 million. Former BBC director general Greg Dyke joined the company in November 2009 as executive chairman.