Providence prop Populous business expansion

Article posted by Coliseum, October 20^th, 2023

Image: Populous

Populous, a leading global sports and entertainment venue architectural and design firm, recently announced a strategic minority investment from the Providence Equity Partners, a premier private equity firm specializing in growth-oriented investments in media, communications, education, and technology companies. The investment is subject to customary regulatory approvals and the financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

‘WVNews’ stated that Populous and Providence anticipate the investment will support Populous’ continued growth and allow the company to pursue opportunities to expand its service offerings and geographic presence for the benefit of clients, partners and its workforce around the globe. Populous will continue to be led by one of its Founders and Global Chair, Earl Santee, and its existing leadership.

Kansas City (US)-based Populous is a global architectural and design firm that has focused on creating spaces and events where joy and human connection have been at the core of its mission for over 35 years. With over 1,000 employees spanning four continents, Populous provides a range of services in addition to architecture including interior design, event planning, sustainable design consulting, and more. Recognized for the sixth time in 2022 for being the most innovative company in architecture by the Fast Company, Populous has brought its industry expertise to over 3,000 different projects globally.

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The Providence Equity Partners is a specialist private equity investment firm focused on growth-oriented media, communications, education, and technology companies across North America and Europe. Providence combines its partnership approach to investing with deep industry expertise to help management teams build exceptional businesses and generate attractive returns. Since its founding in 1989, Providence has invested over $35 billion across more than 170 private equity portfolio companies. With its headquarters in Providence, Rhode Island (US), the firm also has offices in New York, London, Boston, and Atlanta.

Populous specializes in designing sports facilities, arenas, convention centers, and airports, as well as the planning and design of large-scale events. Starting as the HOK Sports Facilities Group in 1983, the company changed its name to Populous in 2009. With an expansive portfolio of more than 3,000 projects, including the 46,537-capacity Yankee Stadium in New York (US), the 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium in London (UK), the 83,500-capacity Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia, and every Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games since 1996, Populous is a best-in-class designer for the next generation of events and venues.

‘WVNews’ quoted Earl Santee, Populous Global Chair, as stating, “We have experienced ongoing success in our core business, as well as growth through geographic expansion and extension of the services that we offer our clients. As our industry continues to evolve, we believe this partnership will enable greater integration and expansion of our global business. Providence has a strong track record of supporting the success of businesses that deliver world-class events and experiences, and we believe their expertise will further accelerate our momentum and enable us to capitalize on additional growth opportunities while retaining the core values and culture that are integral to Populous.”

Stated Scott Marimow, Managing Director at Providence, “Over the last 40 years, Populous has established an exceptional reputation for designing vibrant entertainment destinations that create unforgettable experiences for fans, spectators and communities worldwide. We have been impressed by the differentiated business and culture that Earl and his team have built, as well as its world-class portfolio of projects for some of the most iconic names in sports and entertainment. We believe Populous is well-positioned for continued, sustainable growth and will benefit from consumer demand for live entertainment and increased infrastructure investment by venue owners seeking to create new and innovative environments and experiences.”

Maintained Michael Dominguez, Chief Investment Officer and Senior Managing Director at Providence, “Our investment in Populous, in our view, fits squarely with Providence’s focus on sports, entertainment and live events businesses, and we are excited to leverage our industry expertise to support the company through its next phase of growth.”

Populous has established itself as a renowned global architectural and design firm and continues to strive for excellence. With Populous’ expertise and Providence’s strategic insight, the company will seek to broaden its reach and capture both organic and inorganic growth opportunities globally.

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