DEAG has boosted its festival portfolio through the acquisition of Airbeat One, one of Germany’s biggest electro music events.
Airbeat One was held for the first time in 2002 and is now the largest electronic music festival in northern Germany and one of the largest in Germany, attracting around 60,000 visitors annually. It is held in Neustadt-Glewe in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
DEAG, which owns Myticket and Gigantic, said the acquisition is in line with its expansion strategy as it seeks to play an active role in the consolidation of the live entertainment industry in Europe and to drive its growth through M&A.
The group said it expects synergy effects in the live entertainment business as well as positive impulses for the ticketing business, especially for DEAG-owned promoter I-Motion, the organiser of the electric music festivals Nature One, Mayday, Syndicate, Toxicator and Ruhr-in-Love. In addition, DEAG said the acquisition will result in significant cost synergies as well as added values in purchasing and artist acquisition, among other areas.
Oliver Vordemvenne, managing director of I-Motion, said: “Airbeat One is an excellent addition to DEAG’s portfolio. With Airbeat One, we unite two of the most successful electro music festivals in Germany under one roof and are excellently positioned in this field with now a total of six electro music festivals with over 200,000 visitors annually.
“With the acquisition of Airbeat One, we have also created very good conditions for the further expansion of our business activities.”
Through the deal, festival founder Sebastian Eggert becomes managing director of Airbeat One GmbH, the new organiser of Airbeat One. DEAG said the existing team will remain entirely with the festival and run the event in the long term.
Eggert said: “We are all very pleased to have DEAG as a strong partner for the further development of Airbeat One. We share the same vision for the festival with a clear focus on the visitors and want to continue to offer them an exceptional customer experience in the future. We are strongly rooted in the region of Northern Germany and will stay here for the long term and drive our growth together with DEAG.”
Image: Marcela Laskoski on Unsplash