DEAG Announces UK Acquisition

Without disclosing the asset it is after, German promoter DEAG says it is in “advanced negotiations with a UK promoter to acquire shares in that company.” 

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“The acquisition should be carried out in the coming weeks,” the announcement continues. DEAG says the acquisition should increase its annual UK ticket volume by “by approximately 400,000 tickets to approximately more than 2 million.” 

DEAG already owns Raymond Gubbay Ltd and Kilimanjaro Live Ltd in the UK, which is the company’s most important market after Germany.

It plans to file for a second listing on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange. DEAG also stated that it will generate a profit in the seven-digit range in the current fiscal year, based on its ticketing activities in the UK, Germany and Austria. 

“In addition, DEAG expects significant synergy effects in the area of artist and program marketing as well as in the purchase of concerts and international presence thanks to the intensified collaboration between its three British promoters and its other international group companies in Austria and Switzerland.” 

The news of the imminent acquisition comes after other news announcing Raymond Gubbay Ltd. losing key dates at London’s Royal Albert Hall and DEAG being scrutinized by Germany’s Financial Reporting Enforcement Panel (FREP). 

According to Wirtschaftswoche, FREP found that DEAG reported “great pre-sales” in its 2014 financial statement for its then newly launched rock festivals Grüne Hölle, Rockavaria and Kilimanjaro Live Ltd, even though ticket sales didn’t cover half of the overhead one month before the festivals’ premieres.

Authorities also found the company overstated its earnings before taxes in its 2015 interim statement as well as setting the price tag too high for a properties it owns.