As part of a plan to establish a pan-European network of classical music promotion offices, Deutsche Entertainment AG (DEAG) has purchased a 75% stake in UK promoter Raymond Gubbay for an estimated amount of close to £10million (€12.4m).
DEAG has worked closely with Raymond Gubbay for several years, and according to CEO Peter Schwenkow, it’s a good match: “We want to increase our activities in classical music, so Raymond Gubbay was perfect,” he says. “It’s a sound company and a very profitable business, but they do not have the superstars in classical music which we can bring.”
DEAG recently announced preliminary 2007 figures, which showed a 40% rise in EBITDA to €6.2m, and the bolstering of its classical music activities will include new European territories.
DEAG Classics AG was founded in Switzerland earlier this month: a joint venture with classical promoter Dina Thoma-Tennenbaum. A similar arrangement is expected within the next two months in Austria, with DEAG holding a 51% shareholding in both.
“There are other territories that we want to go with our Classics model,” Schwenkow says. “We have Germany, UK and Switzerland, we’re almost ready with a joint venture in Austria, we might buy into France, and we want to do a joint venture in Scandinavia. The next time a classical artist wants to tour Europe, we can offer it all.”
Already this year, DEAG has presented sold-out shows with Alicia Keys, Neil Young, Riverdance, The Cure and Chris Rea, as well as David Garrett, Lang Lang, Jonas Kaufmann and Rolando Villazón.
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IQ Magazine 
