Capital Partners to Acquire Majority Stake in Stage Entertainment

By: Jun. 19, 2015
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Capital Partners will acquire over 60% of the shares in Stage Entertainment, the international theatre production company founded by Joop van den Ende.

Stage Entertainment was established 17 years ago and has grown to become a market leader in the musical industry, entertaining over ten million visitors a year. Mr van den Ende is 73 years old and wants to ensure the continuity and success of the international musical business that he, together with his wife Janine, has been deeply committed to since its inception. Independent research of the global live entertainment market shows promising growth potential for live entertainment, especially for musical theatre, in numerous countries on the European Continent and in England and North America, as well as in new markets including Asia and South America. The partnership with CVC Capital Partners will deliver an important contribution to the continued growth of the business.

Joop van den Ende: 'My passion for theatre, especially musical theatre, remains strong, but at my age I have to be realistic, and I don't want to achieve the growth I envisage on my own. I will stay closely involved with Stage Entertainment in the coming years, both personally and as a shareholder.

In my capacity as co-chairman of the supervisory board charged with the programming of musicals, the development of new titles, and the strategy of the business, I will focus on the creative development of new, original titles for national and international markets.'

'I am confident that the agreement with CVC Capital Partners will give us the ability to realise Stage Entertainment's ambitions for the coming years, creative as well as financial. Our current business model is based on operating first-class theatres and maintaining outstanding, long-term partnerships with the most important international producers of high-quality musical content.

We can expand this model to markets in Europe, South America and Asia.

Stage Entertainment has the capacity to play an even larger role as a worldwide producer of musicals and as a theatre operator. The company has accomplished its first phase of growth organically, without making large acquisitions. But with our new shareholder, we can grow considerably more. In the coming five years we can grow from our current 10 million visitors to 20 million visitors per year.'

CVC Capital Partners is one of the world's largest private equity firms and has been active in the Dutch market since the early nineties. In the Netherlands, CVC Capital Partners current investments include Raet (software and services). As an investor, the company has much experience investing together with entrepreneurs, such as VolkerWessels (Wessels family), Pilot (Haslam family) and Virgin Active (Richard Branson). Additionally, CVC Capital Partners has experience in the entertainment industry, for example with investments in Merlin (theme parks) and Formula 1 (together with Bernie Ecclestone). CVC Capital Partners' investment will help boost Stage Entertainment's ambitious growth plans and will strengthen the company's position in the market. CVC Capital Partners' broad network and experience make it the ideal partner for Stage Entertainment in its next growth phase. Under the terms of the agreement, Joop van den Ende will retain 40% of Stage Entertainment's shares.

Ivo Lurvink, partner at CVC Capital Partners: 'We recognize the overall growth potential of the live entertainment sector and are impressed by the strong position of Stage Entertainment in the musical industry. These musicals are seen by audiences in the millions, and we expect this number to increase considerably in the coming years, boosted by expanding the company's activities to new markets. We have the experience and means to help facilitate Stage Entertainment's future growth while still maintaining the unique and highly productive Stage Entertainment culture that was nurtured with such care and vision by Joop van den Ende.'

Peter O'Keeffe, CEO Stage Entertainment: 'Over the past few years we have achieved tremendous growth and further professionalized the organization.

So it's business as usual as we continue to do what we are good at-operating theatres, producing, and presenting and marketing musicals. At the same time, the investment of CVC Capital Partners gives us the opportunity to further expand the scope of our international reach. This is a fantastic challenge and opportunity for all Stage Entertainment employees.'

It is expected that the transaction will be completed in the second half of this year. ABN AMRO (Lodewijk Sodderland) and ING (Robert Specken) served as Joop van den Ende's financial advisors on the transaction, and De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek (Arne Grimme) as legal advisor. Additionally, KPMG and PWC provided advisory services on several specific aspects. CVC Capital Partners was advised by Quore Capital, KPMG, Clifford Chance, Deloitte, OC&C, Ronald van Wechem and Reinout Oerlemans. Joop van den Ende's deal team comprised Alexandra Schaapveld, Peter Prein and Fleur Mooren-la Bastide.



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