Live Nation Purchases Majority Stake In Argentinian Promoter DF Entertainment

Courtesy of Live Nation – Live Nation
Live Nation acquired a majority stake in Argentinian concert promoter DF Entertainment.

Live Nation Entertainment announced the purchase of a majority stake in Argentinian concert promoter DF Entertainment Dec. 20.

Live Nation intends to throw its wealth of resources behind DF to continue to expand the promoter’s offerings; in 2018, DF sold more than 500,000 tickets.

DF and Live Nation already have a working relationship, having collaborated to stage shows by Ariana Grande, Coldplay, Foo Fighters and more in the region. DF is also a regional partner for Lollapalooza Argentina, which is staged in conjunction with Live Nation partner C3 Presents.

“Argentina’s live music industry continues to flourish, and together with Live Nation, so will DF Entertainment,” DF founder and owner Diego Finkelstein said in a statement. “I’m very proud of our team and can’t wait to see our event lineup group even more with the support and resources of Live Nation behind us.”

Live Nation Entertainment President and CEO Michael Rapino also weighed in on the acquisition. “The demand for concerts and live events across South America has never been higher, and the local insight of Diego and the DF Entertainment team will help us connect more artists and fans throughout Argentina than ever before,” he said in a statement. “DF Entertainment has proven to be an amazing partner and the premier promoter in Argentina, and we’re glad to have them join the Live Nation family after many years working together.”

Late last month, C3 Presents announced the lineup for Lollapalooza Argentina 2019, which is topped by Arctic Monkeys, Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone, Lenny Kravitz, Sam Smith and Twenty One Pilots. The third day of the 2018 iteration of the festival was rained out.

The DF deal comes at the tail of a fruitful year for Live Nation. In November, the company reported a third-quarter profit of $172.7 million with a revenue of $3.84 billion, which exceeded forecasts and represented at 11 percent increase year-over-year.

“As we look forward, we see tremendous opportunities to continue the global expansion of our concerts and ticketing businesses, and for further growth in sponsorship and ticketing from the concerts flywheel,” Rapino said at the time.

And while Live Nation shares tumbled in March after a New York Times report alleged anti-competitive malfeasance, the company’s stock has gained as much as 58 percent since April.

Earlier this month, Rapino completed the first year of a five-year contract to run Live Nation Entertainment through the end of 2022. He has served as Live Nation CEO since 2005 and ranked as the highest-paid CEO in California in 2017.

“There is still a lot of runway left at what we do,” Rapino said in the keynote Q&A at 2018’s Pollstar Live! “We are the luckiest people in the business world. We’ve come from cavemen dancing to music, and people will gather to dance around music long after we’re dead. There’s huge geography left.”