Live Nation Acquires Canadian Promoter Embrace Presents

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Live Nation today announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Embrace Presents, a Canadian venue operator and concert promoter based in the Toronto area.

“Embrace has grown to become one of Toronto’s most influential leaders in live events,” said Riley O’Connor, Chairman, Live Nation Canada. “We are excited to collaborate with them on new events and utilize their ingenuity and promotion tactics to further strengthen our presence in the marketplace.”

With the acquisition, Live Nation looks to bring more events to Canada, with Embrace’s experience in developing emerging talent as well as boutique festivals and mid-size venue operations.

Embrace will continue to oversee all operations of its varied portfolio, including management of multiple local festivals as well as booking and operating the 1,425-capacity Danforth Music Hall and recently renovated 400-capacity Velvet Underground. Live Nation’s venue portfolio in Toronto already included the Budweiser Stage amphitheatre.  

“We are very excited to join Riley and the entire Live Nation team as we embark on Embrace’s newest chapter,” said Embrace President Adam Gill. “We are looking forward to growing Embrace in concert with Live Nation to present bigger and more exciting live events.”

Gill founded Embrace in 2001 as an electronic music promoter, which has since grown to become one of Canada’s top concert promoters and in 2008 welcomed Geoff Bruce to develop the company’s venue portfolio.

Embrace’s upcoming dates include Chelsea Cutler, Robert Delong, James Blake and many others.

Live Nation continues to acquire regional promoters and venue operators in North America as well as abroad, including the recent purchase of Dan Steinberg and Jason Zink’s Pacific Northwest-based Emporium Presents in October.