Ari Emmanuel snaps up West End theatre group ATG for £4.5bn
Hollywood tycoon Ari Emmanuel has snapped up the theatre group behind West End venues including the Savoy and the Ambassadors in a deal worth around £4.5bn.
Emmanuel, who runs an A-list media agency and helms the group which owns UFC, said the deal underscores the “growing power of live experience and the passionate audiences it brings together”.
The American businessman has been outspoken about the benefits of AI, which he believes could reduce the average working week to three days and give people more time and money to “go out and do stuff” like experiencing the arts.
The deal will see ATG be sold to Emmanuel’s Mari Group, which was launched last year with $2bn in backing by investors including the Qatar Investment Authority, RedBird Capital and Apollo.
The sale, first reported by the Financial Times, will mark one of the most high-value exits for Providence, the private equity firm which has owned the theatre group since 2013.
The group bought ATG for £350m and has since expanded it to 70 venues across the UK and funnelled more than £50m into the business to help it survive the covid-19 lockdowns.
‘Long-term bet’ on live performance
ATG’s most well-known theatres include the Savoy, which is currently staging Paddington the Musical, and the Lyceum, which has been showing The Lion King since 1999.
The group also owns seven Broadway theatres, including the Lyric and the Hudson, as well as regional playhouses in Bristol, Edinburgh and Liverpool.
Emmanuel said on Tuesday: “I started out in the theater. I’ve seen the industry reinvent itself many times, but live has only grown more powerful […] This is a long-term bet on where live goes next.”
Melanie Smith, ATG’s chief executive, said that Mari understood “our theatres, the people behind them and the relationships we have built with producers, artists and audiences”.
Emmanuel is executive chair of WME Group, the entertainment and media agency which represents Hollywood firm director Martin Scorsese and TV personality Oprah Winfrey.
He also helms TKO Group, which owns the UFC and WWE, and became the first boss of a listed Hollywood agency when he floated WME – then known as Endeavour – in 2021 at a $10.3bn valuation.