OVG-Spectra teeth to live events industry

Article posted by Coliseum, September 3^rd, 2021

Image: OVG & Spectra

Oak View Group (‘OVG’), a global venue development, advisory and investment company for the sports and live entertainment industries, and Spectra, one of the industry’s leading venue management and hospitality providers, announced on August 30^th a definitive agreement under which OVG and Spectra will merge to create a leader in the live events industry. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The ‘PR Newswire’ quoted Tim Leiweke, CEO, OVG, as stating, “This merger brings together two dynamic leaders in the live events industry with complementary capabilities that will deliver a broad array of services to our clients. OVG’s core competencies in arena development and corporate sponsorships, coupled with Spectra’s leadership in food and beverage services, will create a full-service live events company that will deliver a compelling and highly competitive set of offerings that meet our clients’ evolving needs. I look forward to collaborating with the talented team at Spectra and bringing together our two organizations to create something truly unique.”

The Oak View Group (OVG) is a global sports and entertainment company founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff in 2015. OVG is focused on being a positive disruption to business as usual in the sports and live entertainment industry and currently has eight divisions across four global offices (Los Angeles, New York, London, and Philadelphia).

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Spectra is an industry leader in live events and entertainment. Spectra’s network of elite onsite management teams work with municipalities, colleges and universities, private developers, and other client-partners to create memorable experiences for millions of visitors every year. Spectra delivers measurable value through a blend of venue management, food services and hospitality, and partnerships services for 330 top-tier clients across North America and the globe, including stadia, arenas, convention centers, performing arts centers, fairgrounds, and casinos.

Dave Scott, CEO, Spectra, commented, “This is an exciting development for Spectra and an important step in our journey to provide unparalleled services to our clients along with exciting growth opportunities for our team members as part of a larger, more diverse organization. This merger accelerates our existing strategy and will lead to significant opportunities to cross-sell food, beverage and sponsorship services across our combined client base. I look forward to working with Tim, Irving and the OVG team to enhance the future of live events for our valued clients.”

Founded in 2015 by industry veterans Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff, OVG specializes in real estate venue development and financing, sponsorship sales and partnership management, media and content and facilities management and security. OVG has deep partnerships with prominent venues, including major league facilities such as the 17,459-capacity Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle (US) and the 17,113-capacity UBS Arena in Elmont, New York (US), among others.

The ‘PR Newswire’ further stated that Spectra has positioned itself as an industry leader by helping clients maximize venue budgets and operations, optimize sales and marketing, elevate relationships with top promoters and meeting planners, connect with fans and the community, and implement industry best practices to effectively and efficiently host extraordinary live events and entertainment.

The combined company will provide industry-leading expertise in booking and creating content for the venues it manages, and it will be committed to sustainability across its business operations by harnessing the power of the entertainment and sports industries to inspire positive change robustly and at scale.

Completion of the combination, which is expected in the fourth quarter of this year, is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Following the close of the transaction, OVG will remain headquartered in Los Angeles (US), with the headquarters for Spectra remaining in Philadelphia (US).

The UBS Investment Bank acted as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal advisor to Oak View Group. Moelis & Company LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP acted as legal advisor to Spectra.

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