Grand Ole Opry Owner Explores Sale

Ryman Hospitality Partners is exploring selling off or spinning out its majority stake in Opry Entertainment Group, owners of the Grand Ole Opry, the Opry House and Ryman Auditorium.

RHP — primarily a real-estate investment trust whose primary business is hotel and convention properties — said in a statement June 24 that it is “evaluating potential opportunities” to sell off its 70% stake in OEG (the other 30% has been held by NBCUniversal and private equity firm Atairos since 2022). In addition to the Ryman and Opry properties, OEG also owns radio station WSM, Austin mixed-use development Block 21 (which includes ACL Live), Blake Shelton’s Ole Red bar locations through the country and Luke Combs’ Category 10 in Nashville. It also manages Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater and CCNB Amphitheatre in Simpsonville, South Carolina.

“We are incredibly proud of our OEG business and of our role as stewards of these historic and iconic brands, which are deeply important to the country music community and the markets we serve,” Colin Reed, RHP’s executive chairman, said in a statement “We remain focused on bringing artists and audiences together through iconic live entertainment experiences.”

RHP is the successor company to Gaylord Entertainment which purchased the Opry from American General Insurance in the early 1980s. RHP was formed in 2012 when Gaylord sold off its branded hotels (and thus lost the rights to its name). Later that year, shareholders voted to operate as a REIT, which allows for profits to be distributed at a tax advantage.

The potential of offloading the Opry properties from the broader REIT has been discussed from RHP’s infancy, with the company’s second-largest shareholder calling for it as far back as its 2012 creation. Reed has often said during his tenure that OEG’s growth would be better served operating outside of the REIT.

RHP has engaged Morgan Stanley to assist with a potential sale.