UK & Broadway Theater Operator ATG In Early Stages Of Possible Sale – Report

ATG Entertainment, the British and Broadway theater operator whose venues house such major productions as The Book of Mormon, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Titanique, is, according to Reuters, “in the early stages of being prepared ​for a possible sale by its private equity owner.”

The news service says it was tipped to the possible sale by four people familiar with the matter.

ATG Entertainment declined Deadline’s request for a comment. Deadline has also reached out to ATG owner Providence Equity ​Partners and will update this post with a response.

According to Reuters, a sale could value the business at more than 4 billion pounds ($5.38 billion), based on, among other things, recent earnings. “An auction could start in ​the second half of the year, two of the people said, speaking on condition ‌of ⁠anonymity because the talks are private,” Reuters reports, adding, “A final decision has not yet been made, the people said.”

Providence Equity ​Partners, according to the news service, has held talks with advisers in recent weeks about a ⁠sale of its controlling stake in London’s largest theatre operator.

Previously known as Ambassador Theatre Group, ATG Entertainment ​owns and ⁠operates more than 70 venues across the UK, the United States, Germany and Spain. Broadway venues include the Lyric, the Hudson, the Al Hirschfeld, the August Wilson, the Eugene O’Neill, the St. James and the Walter Kerr theaters.

One of those Broadway venues, the O’Neill, has recently been in the headlines after a fire broke out in an electrical room at the venue on May 4, prompting the temporary closure of the hit show The Book of Mormon. Performances are currently set to resume May 27.

ATG Entertainment owns and operates 10 West End venues, including the Apollo Victoria, the Lyceum, the Savoy and others. It is the largest owner-operator on the West End.

It is uncertain how a possible sale would impact the Broadway landscape, or which, if any, venues would not be included in a sale.

Providence took over ATG Entertainment in 2013, and the company became a major Broadway force in 2023 in a merger with Jujamcyn Theaters. Operating seven venues, the company is the third largest of the Big Three Broadway owners, after the Shubert Organization (with 17) and The Nederlander Organization (with 9).

Providence declined comment to Reuters, and ATG Entertainment did not immediately respond to Reuter’s requests.