LONDON, April 11 (Reuters) - Blackstone and CVC
are among a list of potential bidders for European festivals
organiser Superstruct Entertainment, several sources with
knowledge of the situation told Reuters.
Superstruct, which runs events including electronic music
festival Sonar in Spain and Mysteryland in the Netherlands,
could be valued at as much as 1.5 billion pounds ($1.9 billion)
in a sale, two sources said.
Private equity owner Providence is working with advisers at
Liontree and HSBC ( HSBC ) to gauge interest and is set to launch a
formal auction process over the next month, the people said.
Providence has been planning the sale since last summer as
live music festivals rebounded after the end of COVID-19
lockdowns, which has encouraged investment, Reuters reported.
Condé Nast owner Advance Publications, which is controlled
by the Newhouse Family, has also been interested in Superstruct,
two of the sources said. Advance is a shareholder in Reddit ( RDDT )
, whose shares have soared since its IPO last month.
Two sources said the sale is expected to draw interest from
KKR, with one of them adding EQT to the list.
All four sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the
talks are private. Providence, CVC, Blackstone, EQT, Advance,
KKR and HSBC ( HSBC ) declined to comment. Superstruct and Liontree did
not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Superstruct was founded in 2017 by Providence and James
Barton, a former Live Nation president and founder of British
night club Cream, with Providence providing seed financing.
It has since grown by acquiring festivals across Europe and
Australia and now generates annual earnings before interest,
tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of more than 100
million euros, a source previously told Reuters.
($1 = 0.7875 pounds)