Leadership Change at Ambassador Theatre Group

[ggersten]

Posted: 10/16/23 at 3:55pm

Stimpson New Head of ATG

ATG currently owns/operates Lyric and Hudson on Broadway, but has connection with Sonia Friedman.  And then there is the agreement with Jujamcyn - for the O'Neill, Hirschfeld, Walter Kerr, August Wilson and St. James. 

Time will tell what this means. Will ATG continue expansion - or is it being set up for a big sale in a few years? 

[OhHiii]

Posted: 10/16/23 at 4:09pm

ggersten said: "Will ATG continue expansion - or is it being set up for a big sale in a few years?"

ATG in the UK is the equivalent of the Shuberts, so I highly doubt they will be selling off in a way that would mean ATG would no longer exist. That said, ATG and Sonia Friedman Productions are owned under a large venture capital group same as one of the main Broadway ad agencies. So, in theory, they could all be sold off and the general public wouldn't know because the entities would still remain in tact, but just change hands on the back end.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/16/23 at 4:22pm

Wonder how much -- if any -- impact this could have on the U.S. operation, which is led by Stephen Lewin and Kristin Caskey?

Always makes me nervous when someone from outside the theatre world takes a job like this. But the current U.S. CEO, Stephen Lewin, was primarily in the wine & spirits industry prior to joining ATG in 2016 and his tenure has seemingly been great. So we'll see...

[sinister teashop]

Posted: 10/16/23 at 4:42pm

OhHiii said: "...ATG and Sonia Friedman Productions are owned under a large venture capital group same as one of the main Broadway ad agencies.."

They are controlled by Providence Equity but not necessarily wholly owned by it. It seems like there is a bundle of ownership including another Equity firm and then there is also a shareholder structure. 

Equity firms are unfortunately famous for extracting value from the companies they purchase and then discarding them when the short term profit schemes they've subjected them to no longer deliver. 

Updated On: 10/16/23 at 04:42 PM

[sinister teashop]

Posted: 10/16/23 at 5:00pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "But the current U.S. CEO, Stephen Lewin, was primarily in the wine & spirits industry prior to joining ATG in 2016..."

Oh my, not so good, ATG has been accused of pushing booze in their UK theaters.

But then of course it's easier with a in-seat booze delivery ap developed by ATG.

 

Updated On: 10/16/23 at 05:00 PM