US-based online event ticketing technology provider Ticketfly agreed to a $450m acquisition by music discovery platform Pandora yesterday in a deal that will enable corporate-backed venture capital firm Sapphire Ventures to exit.
Ticketfly began life in 2008 as an online ticket sales site and has since expanded its core business by adding a curated event function that recommends events to users. It sold 16 million tickets in 2014 to a total of more than 90,000 live events.
In addition, the company now also operates a ticketing technology platform that covers the entire event process for venues and promoters, incorporating a range of services including booking, digital marketing and in-venue merchandising. The platform now has around 1,200 users.
Pandora, which is paying for Ticketfly through a combination of cash and stock, will look to link the company to its own music recommendation service, which has about 80 million monthly active users, enabling Ticketfly to market events to them.
Brian McAndrews, Pandora’s chief executive, claimed: “This is a game-changer for Pandora – and much more importantly – a game-changer for music..
“Over the past 10 years, we have amassed the largest, most engaged audience in streaming music history. With Ticketfly, we will thrill music lovers and lift ticket sales for artists as the most effective marketplace for connecting music makers and fans.”
Ticketfly had raised $87m in funding prior to the acquisition, closing a $50m series D round led by private equity firm Riverwood Capital just three months ago.
Sapphire, then known as SAP Ventures, took part in Ticketfly’s $22m series B round in 2012 alongside Mohr Davidow Ventures, Cross Creek Capital, Northgate Capital, Primary Ventures, then called High Peaks Venture Partners, and Contour Venture Partners.
Sapphire was formed by enterprise software provider SAP as its corporate venturing arm in 1996 before spinning out in 2011. It officially rebranded earlier this year.