Grand Ole Opry Sells Almost $300 Million Stake to NBCUniversal, Atairos

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The Grand Ole Opry is increasing its pursuits on a world scale. The nation music establishment’s dad or mum firm, Ryman Hospitality Properties, has bought a 30 p.c stake in its leisure operations to 2 funding corporations.

Comcast-backed NBC Common and Atairos now maintain a minority stake in Opry Leisure Group (OEG) amounting to $293 million, the Hollywood Reporter reviews. The majority of that cash comes from Atairos, who’s contributing $278 million. OEG can be set to obtain a Time period Mortgage B for $300 million, for a complete sum of $593 million. All advised, within the deal, OEG is valued at $1.415 billion.

A press release obtained by the Tennesseean states that collectively, the businesses are hoping to leverage OEG as “the main participant in nation way of life dwell leisure and media content material” on a world scale.

OEG’s holdings embrace the Grand Ole Opry and its AM radio station, plus the Ryman Auditorium, Blake Shelton‘s Ole Crimson bar and venue and the Circle community, which is a partnership between OEG and Grey Tv. One other asset is the Opry’s 11,000-hour vault of dwell recordings, together with a number of the most iconic nation performances all through historical past.

Along with the unique phrases of the deal, Atairos has agreed to contribute one other $30 million sooner or later if “sure efficiency targets are met,” the Hollywood Reporter particulars.

Ryman Hospitality chairman and CEO Colin Reed tells Selection that the corporate wasn’t all in favour of promoting OEG outright, however fairly that they sought out organizations that might broaden the Opry model’s attain. He’ll function govt chairman of OEG, along with sustaining his Ryman Hospitality Properties duties, and Atairos companions Alex Evans and Jackson Phillips will be a part of the OEG’s board of administrators.

When it comes to what sort of finish targets Opry followers can count on to see from this partnership, Reed hints that extra dwell music outposts could possibly be within the offing.

“We’re wanting on the potential development of extra theaters to place the artist within the middle of manufacturers like Ole Crimson,” he notes, including that the Circle Community is one other space being targeted on when it comes to development.

“We’re on the lookout for new content material that we are able to placed on the Circle platform and to construct higher distribution and affiliation with advertisers,” he provides.