AEG Ogden Out Of SEC Bid

Australia-based AEG Ogden’s advanced talks with Arena Management to take over the lease of the Sydney Entertainment Centre (SEC) went belly-up.

The 12,500-seat SEC is leased by the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority (SHFA) to Arena until 2018.

Arena’s main shareholders, the Jacobsens, are selling off most of their assets following a family rift.

Brisbane-based AEG Ogden manages 15 sports and entertainment venues in the Asia Pacific region for the Anschutz Entertainment Group, including SEC’s main rival, the 21,000-capacity Acer Arena.

AEG Ogden was to pay $4.4 million to buy the lease and a further $1 million to pay out minor shareholders including theatrical entrepreneur Michael Edgley and Sydney businessman Ted Harris.

A statement from Arena that AEG Ogden lost the bid because it was “unable to secure SHFA’s consent” led to an angry response from AEG Ogden CEO Harvey Lister, who said the SEC was run like a “basket case” and “in a most unprofessional and irregular manner.”

Arena’s Kevin Jacobsen refuted these claims. He added that two other bidders, one being Live Nation, were also looking at the SEC’s lease.