Festicket acquires Event Genius and Ticket Arena

Festicket, the marketplace for music festival travel packages, has announced the acquisition of ticketing and cashless payments platform Event Genius and its consumer-facing brand, Ticket Arena.

The combined business, dubbed Event Genius by Festicket, will create an “end-to-end platform for organisers and fans”, according to the companies, bringing together ticketing, accommodation, travel and packages, marketing, data insights and analytics, access control, point of sale and cashless payments services and fan-engagement tools “to plug a gap in the market that no other organisation has addressed to date”.

Festicket, which says its mission is to become “the world’s largest two-sided platform for live events”, allows customers to book tickets and travel packages for more than 2,000 festivals worldwide, working with nearly 6,000 accommodation and travel suppliers.

The company welcomed a US$4.6 million funding round earlier this year, bringing total investment to nearly $30m.

“We have something truly unique for the events industry”

Event Genius, founded by MD Reshad Hossenally, works with some of Europe’s best-known events, including BPM Festival, Ibiza Rocks, Summer Daze and Annie Mac’s Lost & Found Festival.

Hossenally, who will join Festicket as chief supply chain officer, comments: “The Event Genius mission has always been to utilise technology to bring event organisers and consumers a better experience, regardless of the size or type of event. Couple this with Festicket’s global marketplace and supplier network and we have something truly unique for the events industry.”

“The acquisition transforms Festicket’s product set,” adds Zack Sabban, CEO and co-founder of Festicket. “In Event Genius, we have found a company that shares our mission to be a disruptive force in the live entertainment market and, ultimately, to bring the best possible experiences to fans.

“Reshad and the team have built a great product they have good reason to be proud of, and I look forward to welcoming them to the Festicket family.”

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.