Vivid Seats, the Chicago-based secondary ticket marketplace, could be up for sale with a desired price tag of $1.5 billion.
TechCrunch reported the news Thursday, citing a Bloomberg terminal report and unnamed sources. The site said private equity firm Vista Equity Partners, with which Vivid Seats entered a strategic partnership in early 2016, is working with Morgan Stanley to sell the business.
Vivid Seats started in 2001 and has grown into a major online marketplace for tickets to sporting events, concerts and stage shows. Last month, the company inked a deal to become ESPN's official ticketing partner, replacing eBay-owned competitor StubHub. The company also partners with the Big Ten Conference, CSN Chicago and the Chicago Bears, among others, according to its website.
It trails behind StubHub and TicketMaster as the third-largest online secondary ticket marketplace, credit rating agency Moody's reported in 2016. The report indicated that the deep pockets of Vivid Seats' competitors could put pressure on it, despite its growing market share.
Vivid Seats said on its website it has processed more than $1 billion in ticket transactions. Its revenue was $17.3 million in 2008 and rose to $65 million in 2011.
A Vivid Seats spokeswoman declined to comment on the potential sale, saying the company does not comment on industry rumors. She also declined to share recent revenue. A spokeswoman for Vista Equity Partners did not respond to a request for comment.
aelahi@chicagotribune.com
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