Toronto-based ticketing company AudienceView announced today (May 22) it has purchased San Francisco ticketing company Vendini.
AudienceView didn’t disclose the sale price but says the two companies that are “processing $3 billion in annual ticketing and fundraising transactions and serve over 8,000 venues globally with approximately 100 million tickets sold each year,” according to a press release from AudienceView.
AudienceView CEO Mark Fowlie said the combined companies would “provide a significant boost in value” to clients, while Mark Tacchi, founder and chief executive at Vendini said “the opportunity was too unique and powerful to pass up.”
There are not many details yet on how the two companies will operate together. AudienceView says its post acquistion plans include “combining the product portfolios of AudienceView and Vendini into a single company,” which will allow AudienceView “to expand offerings in key markets through a powerful range of software, services, and audience development solutions.” A press release adds “the leaders of both businesses recognized and are excited about the impact that joining forces will have on the live events industry.”
In 2017 AudienceView acquired TheaterMania.com and its subsidiaries, including OvationTix software and the WhatsOnStage media brand. Vendini has also grown through acquistion, buying In Ticketing in 2014 and Quebec ticketing software company Boxxo in September 2018. Its biggest acquistion came in 2015 with the purchase of Crowdtorch from Cvent and included the distribution brands LaughStub, ElectroStub and TuneStub. Following the purchase, Tacchi raised $20 million from New York-based investment firm Level Equity in 2016 to build out a next generation ticket platform, but a year later laid off 10-15% of its staff.
AQ Technology Partners and Perkins Coie LLP served as transaction advisers to AudienceView. Canaccord Genuity and Hanson Bridgett LLP served as transaction advisers to Vendini.