Stubhub

Investment Thesis

• Large scale and competitive positioning
• High barriers to entry
• Attractive entry price

Investment Overview

In February 2020, NBPE invested in StubHub, a US ticket exchange and resale platform which connects buyers and sellers of tickets to sports, concerts, theater and other live entertainment events. Viagogo, StubHub’s European competitor, announced the acquisition of Stubhub from Ebay for $4.05 billion. NBPE invested in the new equity raised to support the transaction. The combination with Viagogo created a large, international ticket and reselling platform in major US and European markets.

The manager believed the transaction was highly attractive for a number of reasons. First, the strategic combination of Viagogo and StubHub would merge the market leading businesses in the US and Europe, creating the number one, global player for ticket exchange. The companies benefit from high barriers to entry due to scale and network effects within the exchange platforms. Finally, the companies had attractive free cash flow characteristics, backed by strong industry tailwinds for live events.