Private equity firms eye Dice stake – report

Ticketing and event discovery platform Dice is reportedly in discussions to sell a “significant stake” that would value the company at hundreds of millions of dollars.

Bloomberg reports that Dice initiated a more formal process after being approached by a prospective buyer, with one of its biggest investors, Softbank, keen to sell its stake.

Citing “conversations with a few people directly involved”, Bloomberg notes that three of the interested parties are private equity firms.

Launched in the UK in 2014, Dice currently operates in the UK, US, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy and Spain. It declared its intention to step up its global expansion plans last summer after raising a $65 million funding round led by music-focused investment company MUSIC.

Dice declined to comment on the report when approached by IQ.

Dice’s most recent accounts, filed in the UK with Companies House, show that its net revenue increased 360% from $6m in the pandemic-hit 2021 to $28m in 2022, powered by “continued expansion in existing territories alongside expansion into new markets”.

The group made a $50m loss for the financial year “largely driven by the successful move into North America and the continued R&D investment into building the leading global discovery platform”. Net assets were $40m.

Elsewhere in the sector, CTS Eventim recently completed the acquisition of Vivendi’s festival and international ticketing businesses in a €300m deal.

Global creative engineering group for live experiences Tait has just announced equity investment from Goldman Sachs

The links with private equity companies mark a continuation of the increasingly close ties between the international touring industry and PE.

American global investment firm KKR acquired festival giant Superstruct Entertainment from Providence in a €1.3 billion deal last month, while Tait, the global creative engineering group for live experiences, has just announced equity investment from Goldman Sachs Alternatives’ private equity business.

Goldman Sachs will acquire a majority stake in the company from affiliates of Providence Equity Partners. Pennsylvania-headquartered Tait, which opened a UK base in London this year, designs, constructs, manufactures and operates stages and installations for clients including Taylor Swift, Cirque Du Soleil, Royal Opera House, NASA, National Geographic, Beyoncé and The Olympics.

“Since its inception, Tait has partnered with clients across the globe to bring visionary concepts to reality and create extraordinary live experiences,” says Tait CEO Adam Davis. “As we look to our future – where the digital and physical worlds seamlessly merge into bespoke, individually tailored events, we are thrilled to partner with Goldman Sachs. This collaboration will unlock new opportunities and reinforce Tait’s position as an industry leader in delivering culture-defining experiences.

“Goldman Sachs’ network and expertise will enable us to grow our global footprint and offerings, empowering the company to better serve clients, drive innovation, and pioneer new technology.”

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

“We believe that Tait is exceptionally well-positioned to benefit from secular tailwinds as the entertainment space continues to grow in scale and complexity, and see tremendous value creation opportunities for Tait as the company continues to broaden its technology offering and market coverage,” adds Simon Kubbies, MD at Goldman Sachs Alternatives.

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