DEAG acquires Ireland’s tickets.ie platform

DEAG has grown its ticketing business by acquiring a majority stake in Oshi, operator of Ireland’s tickets.ie. platform.

Tickets.ie, which has provided ticketing solutions to the Irish live events sector since 2004, is the leading independent provider of fully outsourced ticketing services in Ireland.

The deal was completed through DEAG’s UK subsidiary MyTicket Services Ltd and will complement its existing myticket and gigantic.com platforms. Oshi founder and MD John O’Neill will remain a shareholder and continue to manage the firm in the long term.

“We see this deal with DEAG, Kilimanjaro and Singular Artists as bringing our relationship to the next level, of partnership and collaboration,” says O’Neill. “That, to us, is very appealing and exhilarating as we’ll be working closely with them to ensure that all their great artists reach the maximum audience possible.”

“Ticketing is DEAG’s fastest growing business area and an important earnings driver”

Berlin-based DEAG launched in Ireland in 2020 in partnership with veteran concert promoters Fin O’Leary, Brian Hand and Simon Merriman. Through its UK subsidiary Kilimanjaro Live, it established Singular Artists, a new company that will organise concerts in both Northern Ireland and the Republic.

In the coming years, DEAG aims to distribute more than eight million tickets per year via its own ticketing platforms and to further expand its position as an established distribution channel in its core markets.

“Ticketing is DEAG’s fastest growing business area and an important earnings driver,” says DEAG CEO Peter Schwenkow. “Especially after the corona pandemic has subsided, we are experiencing a massive increase in demand for tickets for physical events. We already have a strong international market position with our own platforms and are now expanding our position further.

“The ticketing market in Ireland is also showing strong growth rates. With myticket.ie, we have a strong independent third-party content platform here that is an excellent complement to our ticketing portfolio.”

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