Live Nation Acquires Mexican Promoter OCESA Entertainment

Live Nation is continuing to grow its global market with the acquisition of Mexico’s OCESA Entertainment.

OCESA is a leading promoter in Latin America and is the owner of Ticketmsater Mexico from CIE, as well as Grupo Televisa, which is the largest multimedia company within the Spanish-speaking world. Annually, OCESA promotes more than 3,100 shows for fans across Mexico and Colombia. It operates 14 premier venues, including Palacio de los Deportes, Foro Sol, Arena VFG, and Teatro de los Insurgentes, and Ticketmaster Mexico sells more than 37 million tickets annually.

Live Nation has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling interest in OCESA with LionTree Advisors serving as the financial advisor to Live Nation in connection with the transaction. The promoter will also acquire an interest in OCESA’s booking and artist management joint venture, CREA, as well as the exhibition and convention center in Mexico City, Centro Citibanamex.

“OCESA has been Live Nation’s touring, festival, and ticketing partner in Mexico for years, and I admire the business Alex has built,” Michael Rapino, President and CEO of Live Nation Entertainment, said in a press release. “This next step is a logical extension for both our teams, and we look forward to working on many more shows together.”

Alejandro Soberon Kuri, President and CEO of CIE, will serve as CEO and sit on the board of the new joint-venture and will become the Chairman of the venture’s board of directors. He said that the company is “extremely proud to join Live Nation.”

“This evolution of our long-standing relationship with Live Nation gives us a unique opportunity to continue OCESA´s 30-year contribution to the development of the Mexican live entertainment industry,” he said in the release. “In addition, this will further foster CIE´s commitment to the promotion of Mexican artistic talent abroad.”

Acquiring OCESA will further expand Live Nation’s global reach. In recent months, it has acquired the Spanish promoter Planet Events, Canadian’s Embrace Presents, ONE Production in Singapore, and the top Swiss promoter Mainland Music. In a report outlining Live Nation’s financial results for their fourth quarter, as well as the full year of 2018, it was revealed that the ticketing giant brought-in $10.8 billion last year.