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DEAG acquires majority stake in Indian Spirit fest

One of the biggest psytrance festivals in Europe, the event has been held in Eldena in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania since 1999

By James Hanley on 18 Oct 2022

DEAG CEO Peter Schwenkow

Peter Schwenkow


DEAG has acquired a majority stake in the German’s Indian Spirit, which is billed as one of the biggest psytrance festivals in Europe.

Featuring leading psytrance (psychedelic trance) DJs, the event has been held in Eldena, near Ludwigslust in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, since 1999 and attracts around 20,000 visitors every year.

The announcement comes days after DEAG expanded its interests in the family entertainment sector by signing a cooperation agreement with Dresdner Weihnachts-Circus.

“We have a strong international position and a well-balanced portfolio, which we are continuously expanding in a rapidly growing market”

“Indian Spirit is an excellent addition to our current range of music festivals,” says DEAG founder and CEO Peter Schewenkow. “We have a strong international position and a well-balanced portfolio, which we are continuously expanding in a rapidly growing market. Indian Spirit will provide further impetus for our growth and drive our expansion. We are very much looking forward to working with Sebastian Eggert and his team in greater depth.”

Berlin-headquartered DEAG’s ticketing platform myticket has already started advance sales for the 2023 festival as the exclusive ticketing partner of Indian Spirit. In addition, DEAG says it expects to gain “synergy effects” in the live entertainment business from the deal, both in terms of purchasing and artist acquisition.

Last month, DEAG enhanced its presence in the classical and jazz market with the acquisition of classical music festival Classic Open Air. Earlier this year, the Berlin-headquartered group reported the most successful summer in its 44-year history, with more than three million tickets sold for its events.

Its event portfolio now comprises more than 30 multi-day and one-day festivals in its national markets of Germany, the UK, Switzerland and Ireland. These include the electronic festivals Nature One, Mayday, Ruhr-in-Love and Airbeat One, as well as open-air events Sion sous les étoiles and Belladrum Tartan Heart.

Festival founder Rolf Eggert and service provider Music Eggert will continue to run Indian Spirit as a shareholder, together with his team led by MD Sebastian Eggert. DEAG has been working with Eggert since

In July 2022, DEAG took over the majority of the electronic festival Airbeat One and has been working successfully with  Eggert ever since acquiring a majority stake in Airbeat One last July.

In view of the current economic climate, DEAG has revealed it is also examining various possibilities for refinancing its 2018/2023 bond and has mandated IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG with examining the option of issuing a new unsecured bond.

 


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