StubHub's Akshay Khanna (r) was on the panel, but noted that he obviously can’t say anythingTONY FLOREZ
A sale of StubHub could bring significant change to the ticketing industry, said panelists yesterday at the ’19 AXS Ticketing Symposium in L.A. The online ticket marketplace in recent weeks has reportedly drawn interest from Vivid Seats, as well as several private equity firms, among other possible bidders. Dynasty Sports & Entertainment co-Founder & CEO Cole Rubin said that if StubHub is sold to private equity firm GTCR and the companies "merge with Vivid, that would create a company that is currently 65-70% of all secondary retail.” Rubin: “That brings up a lot of questions. Will that be permitted? How will that impact consumers?” Rubin said he thinks there is “a lot of upside” in a possible acquisition from a private equity firm, which could make “some changes” to StubHub. Rubin said that if a private equity firm does not come out on top, e-commerce could step in. He referenced Booking.com or Fanatics, which is “reported to be backed by Silver Lake.” “There is tremendous opportunity in StubHub and in the brand,” Rubin said, adding that an acquisition could “unlock a massive amount of potential revenue.”
NO DRASTIC CHANGES EXPECTED: Event Dynamic Founder & CEO Robert Smith said that from a consumer-facing standpoint, StubHub is a “huge brand,” and for what consumers “see every day, I don’t see that changing a lot.” Smith: “If you create a behemoth, then maybe that changes the rules by which everybody has to play a little bit.” AXS Senior VP/Strategy & Corporate Development Todd Sims said of the secondary market players, “If it goes private equity, I don’t think much changes. If it goes to private equity plus Vivid, I don’t think the DOJ will have a problem with it.” StubHub GM of NFL, NBA and NHL Akshay Khanna was also on the panel, but noted that he “obviously can’t say anything.” Khanna: “What you read in the press is what I read in the press. What I can say is we are singularly focused on operating our business to make sure that consumers have the best possible purchasing and sales experience.”
