The parent company behind Secret Cinema, the London-based immersive film and TV business, has been bought by the Hollywood power broker Ari Emanuel.
TodayTix, which is changing hands for an undisclosed sum, marks the latest acquisition by Emanuel’s new global events company, Mari, which bought the Frieze global art fair and publishing group in May for $200m (£148m).
Mari is backed by Apollo Global Management and RedBird Capital Partners, which has invested in the football clubs Liverpool FC and AC Milan and is trying to push through a deal to buy the Telegraph newspaper group.
Emanuel already runs the company behind World Wrestling Entertainment and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
TodayTix will now join the fold, after being bought from Great Hill Partners, a private equity company which took a controlling stake in the business in 2019.
TodayTix had its start selling theatre tickets for Broadway and West End shows. It later branched out to New York-based events including a supper club in Times Square and concerts in Brooklyn, before buying Secret Cinema in a $100m (£88m) deal in 2022.
Secret Cinema is best known for its mystery screenings at undisclosed venues, involving sets and interactive performances. It also has deals with Disney and Netflix to create immersive experiences for shows including Guardians of the Galaxy and Stranger Things.
Brian Fenty, who founded TodayTix with fellow Broadway producer Merritt Baer in 2013, told the Guardian the takeover followed an “incredibly competitive” bidding process and said Mari’s ownership would create opportunities for the Secret Cinema producer and Emanuel’s other ventures.
Mari will benefit from access to 20 million TodayTix members and Fenty said his company could expand ticketing options to sports and art venues.
He said: “As a single venue, for example, you only market to people who have bought from you before, whether or not they want to see that type of programming again. And in our case … we’re able to look at how people are behaving across a wide array of events and types of shows.”
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Emanuel has acquired tennis assets including the Miami Open and Madrid Open tournaments from Endeavor this year. He stepped down from Endeavor after it was bought by the private equity company Silver Lake earlier this year but remains executive chair of its Hollywood talent agency.
Fenty will remain chief executive of TodayTix and will join Mari’s executive team.
TodayTix employs about 200 staff, with half based in London. “We are big believers that the UK and London can be sort of the pole market from which to build many of these brands and events,” said Fenty, who moved his family from New York to London during the pandemic.
When asked whether he had any concerns about tax changes in the budget next month that could hit consumer spending on live events, Fenty replied: “I’m an entrepreneur. So I hope that the UK continues to create a great home for entrepreneurs and the arts, and I hope that the budget does nothing to take away from that.”
