ATG Entertainment Reportedly In Early Stages Of Possible Sale
ATG Entertainment, one of the world’s major theatre owner-operators, is reportedly in the early stages of being prepared for a possible sale by its private equity owner, Providence Equity Partners.
According to Reuters, the potential sale could value the business at more than £4 billion, or approximately $5.38 billion, based in part on recent earnings. The report cites people familiar with the matter, who said an auction could begin in the second half of the year, though no final decision has been made.
ATG Entertainment declined to comment when contacted by Deadline, while Providence Equity Partners also declined to comment to Reuters.
Previously known as Ambassador Theatre Group, ATG Entertainment owns and operates more than 70 venues across the United Kingdom, United States, Germany and Spain. Its theatres are home to major productions including The Book of Mormon, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Titanique.
The company is the largest theatre owner-operator in London’s West End, where it controls 10 venues including the Apollo Victoria, the Lyceum and the Savoy.
ATG is also a significant Broadway force, operating seven venues: the Lyric, the Hudson, the Al Hirschfeld, the August Wilson, the Eugene O’Neill, the St. James and the Walter Kerr theatres.
The Eugene O’Neill Theatre was recently in the headlines after a fire broke out in an electrical room on May 4, forcing a temporary closure of The Book of Mormon. Performances are currently expected to resume on May 27.
Providence Equity Partners acquired ATG Entertainment in 2013. The company expanded its Broadway footprint significantly in 2023 through a merger with Jujamcyn Theaters, making it the third largest of Broadway’s major theatre owners behind the Shubert Organization and the Nederlander Organization.
It remains unclear what impact a potential sale could have on Broadway or the West End, or whether all of ATG’s venues would be included in any transaction.
While talks are reportedly at an early stage, the possible sale of ATG Entertainment would represent a major development for the commercial theatre industry, with the company holding a central role in both London and New York’s theatre landscapes.
