Global live entertainment and ticketing giant TEG has taken a majority stake in three-year-old Sydney startup FAN+.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
FAN+ was founded by former Sydney Kings CEO Rod Hary in 2019, getting its initial momentum as part of the Qantas AVRO accelerator, and the following year, the sports-focused HYPE accelerator.
FAN+ is a marketplace connecting sports fans with clubs and sports stars to buy a range of experiences from coaching classes to well wishes and . It’s been backed by VC Artesian, and several senior Australian execs including hotelier Dr Jerry Schwartz, Pacific Equity Partners founder Rickard Gardell, Seven West Media’s James Warburton, Andrew Burnes, Greg Bundy, Scape Australia founders Craig Carracher and Stephen Gaitanos and Sydney Kings legend and Hoyts boss Damian Keogh.
Sydney-based TEG, the owner of Ticketek, was acquired by US private equity firm Silver Lake three years ago. CEO Geoff Jones said is looking to extend on its live content offering of concerts, sporting events and theatre, and FAN+ is the next evolution of the company’s business model.
“AT TEG we believe nothing beats the live experience and to be able to personalise that live experience with a FAN+ moment is the perfect extension of our offering,” he said
FAN+ will be integrated with Ticketek, to add personalised FAN+ experiences such as backstage tours, seats at pre-show sound checks, opening night launch parties, or tossing the coin at the start of a match.
Harys said the acquisition will enable the business to scale and give fans to access a whole new world of personalised entertainment.
“To have the backing of TEG, the scale of Ticketek and leadership of Geoff Jones is a game-changer for FAN+,” he said
“Being a part of the TEG family means we can scale our offering in terms of audience reach and access some pretty mind-blowing personalised entertainment options. Fans are in for some pretty special moments!”
