NEWS
ITALY
Live Nation to acquire ForumNet Group
Live Nation is to acquire the ForumNet Group, the owner and operator of venues including Milan’ s Unipol Forum; a 15,800-capacity arena that hosts around 2 million visitors annually. Other venues in ForumNet’ s portfolio expected to come under Live Nation’ s ownership when the deal, understood to be worth $ 100m, closes in April include Milan’ s 1,700 capacity Teatro Repower and the open-air Carroponte( cap. 12,000). The ForumNet team will continue to operate the venues while Live Nation will promote the shows. The acquisition follows the announcement in January that Live Nation is set to acquire Europe’ s largest indoor venue; the 40,000-capacity Paris La Défense Arena from Ovalto.
BULGARIA
PhillGood festival to debut with impressive lineup
The Cure will make their Bulgarian debut this summer when they perform at the launch of new three-day music festival PhillGood( cap. 20,000). Promoted by Fest Team, the festival will be held in Bulgaria’ s second largest city, Plovdiv, from 17 – 19 July at a site alongside the Rowing Canal. The Cure will join acts including Gorillaz, Moby, Kneecap, Wolf Alice and Sleaford Mods at the debut event. Fest Team, which was founded by CEO Stefan Elenkov, said the event will blend Roman ruins and Ottoman heritage with a thriving contemporary arts scene.
SOUTH KOREA
Live drives record results for SM Entertainment
K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment has reported its best Q4 financial figures yet, with consolidated revenue of KRW 319 billion(£ 163 million), up 16.6 % year-on-year, and operating profit of KRW 54.6 billion(£ 27.5m) up 62.2 % from the same period last year. It said the impressive results were driven by expanded global touring activities from core IPs including NCT DREAM, aespa, RIIZE, and NCT WISH. SM Entertainment’ s live plans this year include the continuation of Super Junior’ s 20th anniversary tour, shows by NCT DREAM, aespa, RIIZE, NCT WISH and Taeyong across Asia, while in the second quarter EXO will tour, TVXQ will perform a concert at Nissan Stadium, and Hearts2Hearts will perform their first US showcase.
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