Vivid Seats Inc.
Company typePublic
IndustryTicket exchange
Ticket resale
Founded2001; 23 years ago (2001) in Chicago, Illinois, United States
FoundersJerry Bednyak and Eric Vassilatos
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
  • David Donnini (chairman of the board,[1])
  • Stan Chia (chief executive officer),[2]
  • Geoff Lester (chief commerce officer),[3]
ProductsTickets for sports, concerts, theater, entertainment events
Revenue$1.5 billion
Number of employees
500 (2018)[4]
Websitewww.vividseats.com

Vivid Seats Inc. (stylized as vıvıdseats) is an American ticket exchange and resale company.[5] The company went public on October 19, 2021, after a merger earlier in that year with Horizon Acquisition Corporation, a SPAC. It trades on the NYSE and Nasdaq as SEAT.[6][7]

In 2017, it was reported to have a turnover of $1 billion[8][9] and to be the third-largest online ticket reseller.[10][11]

History

Vivid Seats was founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 2001 by Jerry Bednyak and Eric Vassilatos.[12]

Vivid Seats has been invested in by two private equity companies, Vista Equity Partners in 2016 and GTCR in 2017. GTCR bought a majority stake[13] for $575 million.[14]

Vivid Seats is a member of the Internet Association, which advocates for net neutrality.[15]

The company went public on October 19, 2021 after a merger earlier in 2021 with Horizon Acquisition Corporation, a SPAC. It trades on the NYSE and Nasdaq as SEAT.[6][7] Todd Boehly is chairman of Horizon Acquisitions Corporation, which announced that “Eldridge Industries, LLC (“Eldridge”), an affiliate of Horizon’s sponsor, Horizon Sponsor, LLC, has entered into an agreement with DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) to make a private placement PIPE investment in connection with the closing of the previously announced merger between Horizon and Vivid Seats.”[16]

Operations

Vivid Seats is a middleman between ticket buyers and sellers, taking a 10% commission once tickets have sold[17] and additionally charging buyers service fees (circa 20–40%[18]) and shipping charges.[17]

Partnerships

In February 2017, ESPN made Vivid Seats its official ticket provider, replacing StubHub.[19]

In April 2017, Time Inc. made Vivid Seats the official ticket provider for Sports Illustrated.[20]

Also in 2017, Vivid Seats entered into partnerships with the University of Tennessee, the University of Rhode Island, and the Preakness Stakes. It has existing partnerships with entities such as the University of Notre Dame and Duke University.[21]

In August 2018, Vivid Seats was named the official ticketing partner of the Los Angeles Clippers[22] of the NBA.

Expansion

In 2014, Vivid Seats moved its corporate headquarters to Chicago's West Loop while also retaining office space for its operations team nearby[23] to accommodate new employees, 100 having been hired in the last year.[24]

In April 2019, Vivid Seats acquired Toronto-based software company Fanxchange.[25]

In November 2023, Vivid Seats acquired Vegas.com, a travel website that informs users on shows and attractions in Las Vegas, for $240 million in a cash-and-stock deal. [26]

References

  1. ^ "Vivid Seats Announces Post-Merger Public Company Board of Directors" (Press release). GlobeNewswire. August 16, 2021.
  2. ^ "The Thr33: OC Convention Center Reups with Centerplate, Vivid Seats Names Stan Chia CEO & Innings Fest Announces Lineup". Amplify. Archived from the original on July 31, 2023. Retrieved Nov 2, 2018.
  3. ^ Fisher, Eric (Jan 8, 2018). "Geoff Lester Joining Vivid Seats As CCO After Brief Stint With Fox Networks Group". Sports Business Journal. Archived from the original on May 29, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  4. ^ "Vivid Seats Company Profile". Built In Chicago. 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-05-29. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  5. ^ "Contact Us Archived 2017-08-31 at the Wayback Machine" Vivid Seats. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  6. ^ a b Enomoto, Joshua (October 18, 2021). "When is the Vivid Seats IPO Date?". Benzinger. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Owusu, Tony (October 18, 2021). "Vivid Seats Rises in Market Debut Following SPAC Merger". The Street. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  8. ^ Yoshitsugu, Sachiko (2 June 2012). "Fast Fifty No. 8: Vivid Seats Ltd Archived 2019-06-03 at the Wayback Machine.". ChicagoBusiness.com. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  9. ^ Roof, Katie (23 March 2017). "Online ticket marketplace Vivid Seats is looking to sell for $1.5 billion.". Techcrunch.com. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  10. ^ Elahi, Amina (24 March 2017). "Could Vivid Seats, a Chicago-based online ticket site, sell for $1.5 billion? Archived 2017-05-23 at the Wayback Machine". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  11. ^ Tan, Gillian (22 June 2016). "StubHub Is EBay's Next Ticket to Ride Archived 2017-10-29 at the Wayback Machine". Bloomberg. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  12. ^ McLean, Tessa (March 3, 2015). "How bootstrapped Vivid Seats attracted 100+ new hires in each of the last 2 years". BuiltInChicago.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  13. ^ Ecker, Danny (16 March 2017). "GTCR buys stake in ticket reseller Vivid Seats"
  14. ^ Paul Hastings (7 May 2018) "[1] Archived 2018-05-11 at the Wayback Machine"
  15. ^ Zhou, Li (March 15, 2018). "Net neutrality advocates bring expertise to state fights". Politico. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  16. ^ "Horizon Acquisition Corp. Announces PIPE Investment by DraftKings". Globe News Wire. October 14, 2021. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  17. ^ a b Frequently Asked Questions Vivid Seats Archived 2016-11-06 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  18. ^ "Vivid Seats vs. StubHub – Which Ticket-Buying Platform is Better?". Archived from the original on 2017-09-14. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
  19. ^ Fisher, Eric (16 February 2017). "ESPN signs deal with Vivid Seats, opting out of pact with StubHub Archived 2017-02-19 at the Wayback Machine". Sports Business Daily. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  20. ^ Velasco, Haley (8 April 2017). "Time Inc. chooses Vivid Seats as official ticketing partner for the Sports Illustrated Group Archived 2017-05-07 at the Wayback Machine". The Drum. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  21. ^ Staff (15 January 2018). Vivid Seats’ active dealmaking Archived 2018-03-28 at the Wayback Machine. Sports Business Journal. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  22. ^ "Vivid Seats Named Official Ticketing Partner of the LA Clippers". National Basketball Association. August 13, 2018. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  23. ^ Ori, Ryan (21 May 2014). "Vivid Seats punches ticket to West Loop office building Archived 2023-07-31 at the Wayback Machine". ChicagoBusiness.com. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  24. ^ Boehm, Connor (29 May 2014). "With 400 percent growth, Vivid Seats expands its headquarters Archived 2017-09-08 at the Wayback Machine". BuiltInChicago.com. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  25. ^ John Pletz (11 April 2019). "Vivid Seats buys Toronto company, plans hiring spree". Chicago Business. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  26. ^ Thomas, Lauren. "WSJ News Exclusive | Vivid Seats Makes Big Bet on Las Vegas". WSJ. Retrieved 2023-11-08.

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