DEAG pushing ahead with international expansion, acquiring British promoter Flying Music Group

2017-08-18 17:21:01
DGAP-News: DEAG pushing ahead with international expansion, acquiring British promoter Flying Music Group

DGAP-News: DEAG Deutsche Entertainment Aktiengesellschaft / Key word(s): Takeover

18.08.2017 / 17:21
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Corporate News

DEAG pushing ahead with international expansion, acquiring British promoter Flying Music Group

– DEAG takes major stake in British promoter Flying Music Group

– Profitable expansion strategy in the UK continues

– Synergy effects result for DEAG’s Live Entertainment and Ticketing business

Berlin, August 18, 2017 – DEAG Deutsche Entertainment AG (DEAG), Berlin, listed on the Prime Standard – ISIN DE000A0Z23G6, WKN A0Z23G – is acquiring a majority shareholding of British promoter Flying Music Group Holding Ltd. through its British subsidiary Kilimanjaro Holdings Ltd. In fiscal year 2016/2017, the Flying Music Group, which has been profitable since its inception, generated sales of around EUR 20 million. With the future sales contribution of the Flying Music Group, the DEAG Group’s sales in the UK are expected to increase to over EUR 100 million in 2018. DEAG is thus continuing its strategy of profitable growth in an international environment.

The Flying Music Group has successfully established itself as a tour, musical and theatrical production producer and promoter over the last 30 years. The Flying Music Group’s shows include the long running West End Hit “THRILLER – Live,” celebrating the music of MICHAEL JACKSON (that has now played to over 3 million people), the Olivier Award nominated “The Rat Pack Live from Las Vegas,” and the stage adaption of “The Kite Runner,” which is currently enjoying its second West End run with huge critical acclaim.

By acquiring a majority in the British promoter, DEAG gives itself a more heterogeneous and wider range of events, making it one of the leading promoters and theatrical producers in the UK. With this diversified event portfolio, DEAG will generate significant sales potential as well as strategic options for the Group’s entire European business. With its event expertise, the Flying Music Group complements DEAG’s international portfolio of events and will allow the company to continue to grow, especially in the area of Family Entertainment but also in the areas of Musicals and Theatre. In addition to the positive effects for DEAG’s international Live Entertainment business, the Executive Board expects up to an additional 500,000 ticket sales a year for DEAG’s ticketing business in the UK (myticket.co.uk).

Detlef Kornett, the Executive Board member responsible for DEAG’s international business, confirms DEAG’s trajectory in the UK: “The integration of the Flying Music Group into the DEAG Group is another fundamental step into our second home market in the UK. It sees us expand Kilimanjaro’s and our footprint as we continue to grow profitably. This transaction will also give us excellent opportunities for cooperation with outstanding productions in our core markets, across Europe and worldwide.”

Stuart Galbraith, CEO and Partner of DEAG at Kilimanjaro Live, adds: “These are exciting times for DEAG and Kilimanjaro. Our core business of live music is continuously growing. We are expecting to have another record year in 2018 with more than two million tickets sold in the UK. We have also been able to achieve the growth of the last three years by diversifying our business model beyond live music into projects such as “The Illusionists,” “Tape Face” and “Dinosaurs in the Wild”. The Flying Music Group deal is another important step in our expansion into West end touring musicals and theatre. The huge experience of Paul and Derek and the Flying Music Group makes it a strong, complimentary partner. We’re looking forward to working together with DEAG to continue the Flying Music Group’s growth in the UK and worldwide.”

Paul Walden and Derek Nicol, both CEOs of the Flying Music Group, commented on the newly formed partnership: “As an independent promoter, this is an exciting development for the Flying Music Group. As our company continues to grow, we’re excited to be entering into a new chapter with the combined international strength of Kilimanjaro Live and DEAG behind us. We have known and admired Stuart and his team for many years and are looking forward to working together in the future.”

About DEAG

DEAG Deutsche Entertainment AG (DEAG) is an integrated entertainment company and a leading provider of live entertainment in Europe with subsidiaries in its core markets. DEAG produces and profitably organizes a broad range of events and concerts. Its own distribution business, mytic myticket AG, which is also share-held by two large print and TV media companies, increases the company’s profitability and scales its business model. DEAG organizes about 2,000 concerts and events a year, selling more than 5 million tickets at present, a steadily increasing part of which is sold via its high-turnover online distribution channel MyTicket.

Live events range from rock/pop, classic & jazz, the strongly growing Family Entertainment division as well as Arts + Exhibitions. The festivals and family entertainment divisions are particularly fundamental for the further development of DEAG’s own content. Its network of strong partners allows DEAG to put itself in an excellent market position as an internationally active live entertainment group. DEAG shares (ISIN: DE000A0Z23G6 | WKN: A0Z23G | ERMK) are quoted in the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, which is the quality segment of the Deutsche Börse, the German stock exchange.

IR contact

cometis AG
Claudius Krause
Phone: +49-611-20585528
Email: deag@cometis.de