Ari Emanuel's Mari to Buy ATG Theaters for $6B
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- Mari, the events holding company founded by Ari Emanuel in 2025, agreed to acquire ATG Entertainment from Providence Equity Partners, subject to regulatory approval; financial terms were not disclosed.
- The Financial Times reported the deal values ATG at £4.5B ($6B), making it one of the largest theater acquisitions in recent memory.
- ATG owns 70 venues including London's Savoy (home to Paddington the Musical) and Broadway's Lyric (home to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), reporting £924M in revenue (+5%) and £208M adjusted EBITDA (+15.7%) for the year ending March 2025.
- Mari launched in 2025 as a holding company for the Frieze art organization, global tennis tournaments, and other assets once housed by Endeavor, backed by Apollo and RedBird Capital Partners with $2B.
- Emanuel framed the acquisition as a "long-term bet on where live goes next," citing his career origins in theater and the enduring power of live performance.
Why it matters: Emanuel — freshly spun out of Endeavor — is immediately deploying his $2B-backed Mari vehicle into a $6B theater acquisition, signaling that live entertainment is the cornerstone of his post-Endeavor strategy rather than a sideline. Providence Equity exits a portfolio company that grew revenue ~5% and EBITDA nearly 16% in its last reported year, while ATG's 70 historic venues across London and New York now sit inside a single holding company alongside Frieze and global tennis.
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