Desmond Shuffles
V Fests Stake

“I’ve just moved my share of the festivals from Gaiety to LN-Gaiety Holdings,” Desmond explained.

Gaiety Investments is Desmond’s investment company, while LN-Gaiety Holdings is the company that he and Live Nation (then Clear Channel) chief Michael Rapino set up in the spring of 2005 as a vehicle to buy Vince Power’s Mean Fiddler Music Group.

The financial details of the V-Fest deal haven’t been made public, but it means LN now has a share in the 170,000 combined capacity events staged every August in Stafford and Chelmsford.

The other two V Festival shareholders, Bob Angus of London-based Metropolis Music and Simon Moran of Manchester-based SJM Concerts, have also each sold 8 percent of the festival to LN-Gaiety, thereby reducing their individual holdings from 33 percent to 25 percent.

LN-Gaiety is now the major shareholder with a 50 percent stake in what are now two of the UK’s biggest festivals.

As a result of the 2005 Mean Fiddler purchase, LN-Gaiety also owns that company’s outdoor business under its wholly owned subsidiary Festival Republic.

The FR UK festivals include Reading, Leeds and Latitude.

It also has a majority stake in Ireland’s Electric Picnic Festival. John Reid, Live Nation Europe’s president of concerts, said: “We are delighted to be able to help ensure V-Festival fans will continue to enjoy the best acts in great venues each summer.”

Since paying £37.9 million (then $71.6 million) for Mean Fiddler, LN-Gaiety has subsequently paid £58.1 million for a 56 percent stake in London-based Academy Music Group, which has the city’s Brixton Academy as its flagship venue.

That deal was completed in the spring of 2007, after overcoming competition issues that involved it selling London’s Hammersmith Apollo and Forum venues to MAMA Group Plc.

The 2014 V Festivals are Aug. 16-17. The lineup is expected to be announced in March.