SOM Produce the Nuevo Teatro Alcalá theater in Madrid. Photo credit: MaGrc
Providence Equity Partners’ ATG Entertainment has made another acquisition, this time buying Madrid-headquartered theater company SOM Produce.
Representatives of London-based ATG (formerly Ambassador Theater Group) announced the acquisition of SOM Produce today, less than a month later. procurement from the Broadway host on tour Celebrity Attractions.
Founded in 1983 and operating in Tulsa, the latter company produces shows throughout the Southwest as well as the Midwest.
But obviously, ATG’s expansion ambitions are not limited to the United States. The company chose not to publicly disclose the financials behind the SOM Produce deal, but it touted the scope of the newly purchased business.
In total, SOM reportedly sells more than 750,000 tickets per year for its plays, including Spanish-language productions of West Side History, Mama Mia!and the next Wicked.
On the theater side, SOM manages five theaters in Madrid: Nuevo Teatro Alcalá, Teatro Rialto, Teatro Nuevo Apolo, Teatro Calderón and Teatro Amaya. These theaters accommodate a total of approximately 5,200 seats, according to the parties involved.
According to the same parties, collaborations are envisaged for ATG and SOM in light of the acquisition which has just been finalized; Madrid, explained Marcos Cámara, CEO of SOM, is today one of the largest theatrical markets.
“Madrid trails only the West End and Broadway in terms of global demand for theater, while the appetite for theater and live performance continues to grow across Spain,” Cámara said in part.
“This partnership with ATG will help us seize significant opportunities to meet this growing demand in the future,” continued the head of SOM for more than 11 years.
And in his own remarks, ATG CEO Ted Stimpson described the deal as “an exciting opportunity to further grow ATG’s European operations.” Meanwhile, Lisbeth Barron, whose Barron International Group acted as exclusive financial advisor to SOM, highlighted the significant growth of theaters in Germany, Australia and South Korea during an interview with DMN.
“After New York, London and Madrid, the next market that will capture audience share is Hamburg, as well as other selected cities in Germany,” Barron told Digital Music News. “Sydney, Seoul and other key cities in the Asia-Pacific region also demonstrate strong consumer demand for well-known IP brands that travel well and can be adapted to local markets.
Providence Equity isn’t the only one betting on theater – and ATG in particular. Last year, Blackstone quietly took a minority stake in ATG, which operates nearly 70 locations.
Also in 2024, Providence went ahead and cashed in from Superstruct Entertainmentselling the European live music giant to KKR for $1.4 billion. Owner and operator of some 80 festivals, Superstruct brand a subsequent investment by the Luxembourg CVC at the end of October 2024.
In general – and despite the continued commercial success of several mega-tours – the festival space is not very high at the moment, to put it mildly. Organizers canceled more than 170 festivals last yearnoted DMN Pro, and even decidedly well-established players are struggling with slowing sales.