The owners of TEG are understood to have run a sale process earlier this year, under the radar. Advanced discussions were held with a private equity firm but it backed away.
There were suggestions a week ago that a sale process is again up and running for TEG, with documents in the market.
New York-based Blackstone is understood to have had aspirations to buy TEG. It is believed to have been working on a possible acquisition since last year with help from adviser Goldman Sachs.
Blackstone has a particular focus on entertainment assets, buying the James Packer-backed Australian listed casino operator Crown Resorts for $8.9bn.
The advisory firm selling TEG is Jefferies.
TEG counts Ticketek in its stable.
Some say the jewel in the crown is the ownership of the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.
The challenge for private equity buyers will be a bleak economic outlook due to high costs and rising interest rates.
Silver Lake bought TEG from Affinity Equity Partners three years ago for between $1.2bn and $1.4bn. Affinity had bought it from Nine Entertainment for $640m in 2015.
When it was for sale last time under the ownership of Affinity, suitors such as Hong Kong buyout fund PAG, China’s Wanda and Fosun, German ticketing company CTS Eventim, AEG Presents and Live Nation were seen as potential buyers.
Ticketek is a leading ticketing services provider to the live events industry in Australia and New Zealand and is the largest operator in Australia, judged by ticket sales volume.
It is the ticketing provider for more than 135 venue and promoter clients, and delivers 30 million tickets annually for over 30,000 events, spanning live sports, concerts, theatre, festivals and exhibitions across more than 13 countries.
In 2020, Silver Lake sold a stake to global live entertainment and content holding company Amplify.
It sold a minority interest to Australian investor Mercury Capital in 2019.
TEG has promoted stars including Hugh Jackman, Guns N’ Roses, Eminem, Katy Perry and Cirque du Soleil.
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