Ticketek $2b auction going nowhere fast as bids underwhelm Silver Lake
No news might be usually good news but not when it comes to Ticketek, the ticketing giant put on the market by its owner, Silver Lake.
Bids for TEG, Ticketek’s parent, were due in early August, a timeline abruptly extended until the end of the month. Silver Lake’s desire to sell the company, which it acquired for about $US1.3 billion ($1.9 billion) in 2020, was first flagged by Street Talk in October, when it was already well in train.
While every private equity firm under the sun has taken a look, only two are serious: Blackstone, which has had Goldman Sachs and King & Wood Mallesons looking at TEG for months, and KKR, which has brought in Qantas Loyalty as a strategic partner and is advised by Jarden.
Taylor Swift at an August concert in Los Angeles. Ticketek broke sales records after the singer announced her local tour. AP
But sources close to the process now say that it is all but over. The problem? Silver Lake’s price expectations, which were closer to $3 billion that the $2 billion flagged in previous reports. The interested private equity firms want to spend closer to $2 billion. No wonder it’s been a slow mover.
The sales process is being run by Jefferies’ Michael Stock, who has plenty of experience negotiating difficult mega private equity deals. And there are other options on the table too, including bringing in a minority investor.
That’s a path well worn by private equity owners, including TPG Capital which last year brought AustralianSuper and the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan into pets and vet business Greencross in a deal valuing it at more than $3.5 billion. TPG will eventually list that business – which is considering whether to split in two and where Jefferies is also providing strategic advice –
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