#1
Posted: 5/21/26 at 7:30pm
What are we hearing? Do we think one of the other big landlords like Nederlander or Shubert will buy it?
#2
Posted: 5/21/26 at 7:39pm
Fred Mason said: "What are we hearing? Do we think one of the other big landlords like Nederlander or Shubert will buy it?"
Will the BS like “meals at your seat” “priority entrance line” (which were brought in by ATG) end?
#3
Posted: 5/21/26 at 7:51pm
So…any sources about this or are you just saying stuff for attention again
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#4
Posted: 5/21/26 at 7:56pm
https://www.reuters.com/world/british-theatre-group-atg-entertainment-readied-sale-sources-say-2026-05-20/
"LONDON/NEW YORK, May 20 (Reuters) - British West End theatre operator ATG Entertainment is in the early stages of being prepared for a possible sale by its private equity owner, four people familiar with the matter said.
Providence Equity Partners has held talks with advisers in recent weeks about a sale of its controlling stake in London’s largest theatre operator, which hosts popular musicals including The Book of Mormon, Wicked and The Lion King, three of the people said.
A sale could value the business at more than 4 billion pounds ($5.38 billion), based on its most recent earnings and the valuations of sector peers such as Live Nation (LYV.N), opens new tab, a fourth person said.
An auction could start in the second half of the year, two of the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the talks are private. A final decision has not yet been made, the people said."
#5
"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008
Posted: 5/21/26 at 8:20pm
Was it Sweaty that said BlackRock was interested? God help us if that's true...
"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008
#6
Posted: 5/21/26 at 8:23pm
BwayMusician said: "https://www.reuters.com/world/british-theatre-group-atg-entertainment-readied-sale-sources-say-2026-05-20/
"LONDON/NEW YORK, May 20 (Reuters) - British West End theatre operator ATG Entertainment is in the early stages of being prepared for a possible sale by its private equity owner, four people familiar with the matter said.
Providence Equity Partners has held talks with advisers in recent weeks about a sale of its controlling stake in London’s largest theatre operator, which hosts popular musicals including The Book of Mormon, Wicked and The Lion King, three of the people said.
A sale could value the business at more than 4 billion pounds ($5.38 billion), based on its most recent earnings and the valuations of sector peers such as Live Nation (LYV.N), opens new tab, a fourth person said.
An auction could start in the second half of the year, two of the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the talks are private. A final decision has not yet been made, the people said."
"
Much obliged. Thank you 🙏
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#7
Posted: 5/21/26 at 8:34pm
It's my understanding from friends who've worked on both ATG U.K. and U.S. productions that the negotiations with BlackRock are indeed very true and have been in discussion long before this article dropped. Whether it'll go through or not, we'll see - but ATG has built quite an international portfolio.
I don't see any of the NY theatre owners getting involved - it'd be a *MASSIVE* investment, unless ATG was just willing to spin-off their U.S. venues into pieces, which I'd also rank as unlikely given their folding of the Jujamcyn Venues into their portfolio, as well as the unlikely -- but not invalid argument that could be made -- of anti-trust lawsuits considering how massive a footprint a NY owner would have, over both the venues themselves and the ticketing systems that power them.
(Thus concludes today's TedTalk....let's hope for the best / keep our eyes out for however this develops.)
#8
Posted: 5/21/26 at 8:36pm
I think all of us, here at the BWW Forum, should pool our moneys and buy them out. Think of what we could do (aside from never agreeing on anything)! 🙃
#9
Posted: 5/22/26 at 2:34am
everythingtaboo said: "Was it Sweaty that said BlackRock was interested? God help us if that's true..."
It’s the other one, Blackstone.
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#10
Posted: 5/22/26 at 6:33am
Horrible news for the audience either way.
#11
Posted: 5/22/26 at 7:53am
TheatreMonkey said: "I think all of us, here at the BWW Forum, should pool our moneys and buy them out. Think of what we could do (aside from never agreeing on anything)! 🙃"
There’d be 7 concurrently running lavish productions of Follies, all claiming to be the definitive, and the company would be bankrupt in 3 months.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
Updated On: 5/22/26 at 07:53 AM
#12
Posted: 5/22/26 at 9:12am
I swear to god if LiveNation buys these Broadway houses I’m gonna have heart palpitations
#13
Posted: 5/22/26 at 10:13am
The word “auction” in the above article caught my attention. How would that work?
#14
Posted: 5/22/26 at 10:26am
It's conceivable the ATG theatres don't end up in one set of hands by the time all is said and done (They could be bought as a package and immediately re-sold to buyers who are already committed when the deal is made).
The Shuberts were forced to sell of theatres for anti-trust reasons at one point (admittedly back in the 50's) so I'm not sure if it would be practical for them. The Nederlanders own 9 and ATG 7, so (theoretically) The Nederlanders picking up at least some of the theatres might not be a problem.
Could Really Useful Group (owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber), perhaps in association with Cameron Macintosh, be interested in picking up a few? I recall both have been interested in owning a Broadway theatre.
#15
Posted: 5/22/26 at 10:30am
Blackstone already holds a minority stake in ATG so their mitts are already all over those theatres.
#16
Posted: 5/22/26 at 10:34am
sinister teashop said: "The word “auction” in the above article caught my attention. How would that work?"
Interested buyers will submit their own bids and proposals after viewing all the paperwork and details of the sale, and then ATG will decide who they want to sell to. It’s not a traditional auction in the “highest bidder wins” sense. There’s a lot of factors, like what they plan to do with the business in general and do they even have the funds to make the sale happen.
#17
Posted: 5/22/26 at 12:27pm
ColorTheHours048 said: "sinister teashop said: "The word “auction” in the above article caught my attention. How would that work?"
Interested buyers will submit their own bids and proposals after viewing all the paperwork and details of the sale, and then ATG will decide who they want to sell to. It’s not a traditional auction in the “highest bidder wins” sense. There’s a lot of factors, like what they plan to do with the business in general and do they even have the funds to make the sale happen."
AI quoting LexisNexis suggests that it would be Providence Equity that would hire an investment bank (or perhaps they would do it themselves) and actually auction off their asset (ATG) to the highest bidder.
"A private equity (PE) firm auctions an asset (or portfolio company) to secure the highest sale price by forcing multiple buyers to compete. They typically hire an investment bank to package the business, market it to strategic buyers and other PE funds, and oversee a multi-round, sealed-bid process."
#18
Posted: 5/22/26 at 12:41pm
Kad said: "TheatreMonkey said: "I think all of us, here at the BWW Forum, should pool our moneys and buy them out. Think of what we could do (aside from never agreeing on anything)! 🙃"
There’d be 7 concurrently running lavish productions of Follies, all claiming to be the definitive, and thecompany would be bankrupt in 3 months."
All of these expenses will be offset by profits from the dueling de-revised CARRIEs.
#19
Posted: 5/22/26 at 12:56pm
Kad said: "TheatreMonkey said: "I think all of us, here at the BWW Forum, should pool our moneys and buy them out. Think of what we could do (aside from never agreeing on anything)! 🙃"
There’d be 7 concurrently running lavish productions of Follies, all claiming to be the definitive, and thecompany would be bankrupt in 3 months."
I'd expect nothing less from our brain trust.
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