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DEAG acquires Michael Drieberg’s Live Music Production

Deutche Entertainment's European spending spree continues, as it expands into French-speaking Switzerland via a majority stake in LMP/LME

By Jon Chapple on 21 Jun 2019

LMP/LME organise the popular Sion Sous les Étoiles ("Zion Under the Stars") event

LMP/LME organise the popular Sion Sous les Étoiles ("Sion Under the Stars") event


German live entertainment powerhouse DEAG has made its third promoter acquisition this month, announcing today it is to acquire a majority stake in Live Music Production (LMP) and Live Music Entertainment (LME), the leading concert organisers in Francophone Switzerland.

The acquisition sees the two companies – founded and owned by veteran promoter Michael Drieberg – become part of AIO Group, the DEAG subsidiary that includes Good News Productions, the market leader in German-speaking Switzerland, as well as the country as a whole.

Over a 20-plus-year career, Drieberg has organised shows by the likes of Johnny Hallyday, Sting, David Guetta and Zucchero, and his company offers “attractive events in the segments rock/pop, family entertainment, arts and exhibitions and classics jazz”, with a focus on French-speaking artists, says DEAG.

The group also owns the 2,000-capacity Salle Métropole venue in Lausanne and promotes the open-air Sion Sous les Étoiles festival in Sion, Canton Valais, which welcomes 40,000 visitors annually.

“We are gaining excellent access to the French-speaking market”

The acquisition of a majority stake in the Live Music companies follows similar deals with I-Motion, the German division of EDM conglomerate LiveStyle (formerly SFX Entertainment), and Stuttgart-based promoter C2 Concerts, earlier this month. DEAG alluded to several in-the-works European investments in its recent Q1 financial report.

Drieberg will continue to manage the businesses and, together his team and DEAG, is responsible for driving the growth of LME/LMP. Following the acquisition, for the Swiss market as a whole, DEAG expects profitable revenue worth around Fr. 35 million (€51.5m).

“With this investment, we are accelerating the strategic expansion of our business activities in Switzerland,” says Detlef Kornett, a member of DEAG (Deutsche Entertainment AG)’s executive board. “We are expanding our range of events to include first-class French-speaking artists and events and are gaining excellent access to the French-speaking market.”

Drieberg adds: “With DEAG, we are jointly establishing a network that offers all of us excellent growth opportunities. We have a long-standing, trusting relationship with [Good News CEO] Stefan Matthey and Good News Productions and look forward to expanding our joint activities.”

 


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