Outbox AXS, Veritix Merge

The joint announcement was made by Outbox AXS President/CEO Bryan Perez and Veritix CEO Samuel Gerace at the Sports Business Journal‘s Facilities & Franchises Conference and Ticketing Symposium in Santa Clara, Calif.

The merger signals a deeper move into the North American sports space for Outbox AXS. The combined company will bring together Outbox AXS ticketing platform and Veritix’s vaunted season ticket management and FlashSeats digital, ID-based ticketing technology to almost 25 percent of NBA and one-third of Major League Soccer teams. In addition, Veritix manages ticketing for dozens of venues for sporting events in addition to NBA and MLS events, including the NFL, National Hockey League, Hockey Canada, NASCAR and the NCAA.

Veritix co-founder Dan Gilbert, majority owner of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, will take an ownership position with Outbox AXS in the transaction. The combined entity is supported by more than 120 venues owned or controlled by Outbox AXS parent AEG, as well as content produced by AEG Live and Cirque du Soleil, another Outbox AXS partner. “This partnership is about more than ticketing,” Perez said. “It’s about combining the best technology and services to create the only platform in the industry that engages with consumers beyond ticketing through every phase of the event lifecycle.”

The new company will also benefit from investments and technology owned or developed by partners including Carbonhouse, a leading developer of websites and mobile apps for venues, AXS Advantage, a proprietary “big data” consumer marketing platform for venues and teams, and stakes in Bypass, which supplies cloud-based F&B point-of-sale systems.

“This is an exciting moment for Veritix and for all the teams, venues and organizations that believed in the value of innovating and evolving the platform that helps them run their businesses and create great experiences for fans,” Gerace said. “Today’s merger was able to take place because we have two industry leading organizations with a shared vision of empowering venues, teams and fans with the best technology, tools and insights, adding the most value to the entire event experience,” Perez said. “AXS now has the infrastructure and market share to provide the most complete experience for live entertainment venues and fans.”