Live Nation continues its consolidation of the live event space across the United States with another acquisition. Live Nation has gone out and acquired a majority stake in Bonnaroo co-founder and Forecastle promoter AC Entertainment.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
CEO Ashley Capps founded AC Entertainment 25 years ago. It has developed into a promotion, booking and marketing company, with some of the largest festivals and events in the Southeast.
"Ashley and his amazing team have created an impressive roster of live events and developed a strong network and regional expertise that will complement Live Nation's festival and concert portfolio," said Bob Roux, Live Nation's Co-President, North American Concerts in a statement. "This new working relationship with AC will offer exciting synergies that will enable us to continue to grow both of our businesses together in the coming years."
In addition to Bonnaroo, which AC helped found in 2002 with Superfly, Live Nation will get a roster of events that includes Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee, Forecastle and Sloss Music & Arts in Birmingham.
AC is also responsible for over 1,000 shows per year across the Southeastern United States.
"We're proud of what we've accomplished at AC Entertainment during the past 25 years and are now excited to take the next step, "said Ashley Capps, Founder and CEO of AC Entertainment in a statement. "We've worked with the Live Nation team in various capacities for years - and especially during the past 18 months on Bonnaroo - and it became clear that they were the best strategic partner for AC's continuing evolution. There are extraordinary opportunities to come from working together."
