DEAG strengthens market position in Switzerland

• Cooperation agreement entered into with ABC Productions AG
• Business expansion mainly for Rock/Pop, Family Entertainment and Corporate Events
• Executive Board expects more than doubling of results versus prior year for 2013

Berlin, June 03, 2013 - DEAG Deutsche Entertainment AG (ISIN DE000A0Z23G6) strengthens its market position in Switzerland through a cooperation agreement between the Good News Group and ABC Productions AG. This cooperation agreement regulates the joint approach of the two partners at the production and marketing of concerts and events. The Good News Group and ABC Productions will pool their resources and act together based on the best possible utilisation of synergies. The Good News Group, led by Gérard Jenni as CEO, who acted already as director of the Zurich Hallenstadion arena from 2003 to 2007 and managing director of the Good News subsidiary B+R Event AG, sees enlarged business opportunities in Switzerland as a result of the cooperation, mainly in the fields of Rock/Pop, Family Entertainment and Corporate Events. In the Classical Music business DEAG will continue to operate and expand the business in Switzerland exclusively through the successful joint venture with Ringier, The Classical Company AG.

With the longstanding and strong business partner Ringier, a good concert pipeline and the partnership with ABC Productions, led by André Béchir, DEAG anticipates at least a doubling of results on the Swiss market in 2013. This will have a direct impact on the consolidated balance sheet of DEAG. The already well booked highlights of Good News and Starclick in June and July include concerts by Rihanna, Depeche Mode, Kiss, Alicia Keys, Bon Jovi, Die Toten Hosen or Bruce Springsteen. At the Moon & Stars Festival in Locarno in July yet another successful event will be staged with artists such as Green Day, Zucchero and Neil Young’s Crazy Horse. For 2014, too, top-selling events, e.g. with Otto, André Rieu or Apassionata are already on sale and a continuation of the Moon & Stars Festival has already been decided.

Prof. Peter L.H. Schwenkow, CEO of DEAG, comments: “We gather pace with our activities in Switzerland. Gérard Jenni gives the right impetus for a highly competitive positioning. With André Béchir we continue to have a familiar partner, who accompanied the successes of Good News in the past. Ringier as a leading media house is a reliable partner for us in all areas in Switzerland. Consequently, we are confident as far as the operational development in Switzerland in 2013 and beyond is concerned.”

DEAG Deutsche Entertainment AG
The Executive Board

DEAG Deutsche Entertainment AG is a leading provider of live entertainment and the largest organizer of high-margin classical events in Europe. Founded in 1978 and stock-listed since 1998, the company draws on 30+ years of experience.

With group companies in Germany, the UK and Switzerland, DEAG stages 1,500+ events and sells 3.5 m tickets per year in the fields of family entertainment, rock/pop, classical and German music. The company also operates venues in Frankfurt/M, Stuttgart and Zurich.

In the concert business, DEAG acts as both tour organizer and local promoter, ensuring additional risk diversification through its broad positioning. During recent years, DEAG continuously enhanced its value chain by implementing a comprehensive “360-Degree Approach.” With its own music label DEAG Music and a wide range of activities in publishing rights, live recording, sponsoring, merchandise, ticketing etc and powerful partners such as Sony Music Entertainment, Ticketmaster, Ringier AG et al, DEAG is perfectly positioned as an integrated and highly synergistic international Entertainment Content Company.

For further information please contact:
Axel Muehlhaus
edicto GmbH
Eschersheimer Landstraße 42
60322 Frankfurt
Tel: +49-69-90 550 552
Email: deag@edicto.de

This release was published on openPR.