Ticketmaster goes on buying spree: acquires Sherpa.be, Eventjoy & hints at more

by Julianne Tveten
September 21, 2014

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Last week, event sales giant Ticketmaster bought two ticketing services companies, Sherpa.be and Eventjoy, while hinting at more acquisitions to come.

The company finalized its acquisition of Sherpa.be, a Brussels-based company that sells tickets for a comprehensive range of live events, theaters, and festivals, last Tuesday. According to a spokesperson for Ticketmaster, Sherpa.be reigns as the leading ticket company in Belgium’s two largest regions, Flanders and Wallonia, with an annual turnover of €55 million ($71 million) and an approximate ticket volume of 1.5 million per year. Sherpa.be will be incorporated into Ticketmaster’s Belgium division (part of its burgeoning European network).

"This is a great moment for Sherpa.be," said Hubert Laterre, founder and chairman of Sherpa.be, in a statement. "Joining the most innovative ticket agent is the ultimate reward of years of work led by a team of dedicated professionals. Thanks to Ticketmaster, we will be able to explore new opportunities. I'm really looking forward to being part of the team as we enter this new phase of the company."

Two days later, Michael Rapino, CEO of Ticketmaster parent company Live Nation, announced the Eventjoy acquisition at the Goldman Sachs 23rd Annual Communacopia Conference in New York.

The app, which has enjoyed rapid growth since its founding last year, offers a mobile ticketing platform as well as analytics and social-media marketing for event organizers, in addition to as such features as real-time notifications and venue maps for users.

"We were looking for an easy entry into the do-it-yourself platform," Rapino said. "You may want to go on there and put on your own show, your own birthday party, and sell 100 tickets to your friends...but eventually Eventjoy gets to list that product at the Ticketmaster page and give you bigger eyeballs and bigger access."

Ticketmaster’s efforts to expand may continue within the near future, according to Rapino. "On a global basis, there's obviously companies still out there that are in our space—ticketing and concerts on a global basis. We'd love to consolidate and continue to grow."

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