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CMS advises Advance on Stage Entertainment acquisition

30 August 2018

International law firm CMS has advised Advance/Newhouse Partnership (“Advance”), a diversified, family-owned company that operates and invests in a broad range of media, communications and technology businesses, on its agreement to purchase 100% of the shares of Stage Entertainment from CVC Capital Partners and Joop van den Ende.

Stage Entertainment is one of the world’s largest theatre producers and owners, operating 20 theatres and partnering with world-renowned creative talent to produce shows attended by over seven million visitors annually, including Tina: the Tina Turner Musical in London and the Lion King in Hamburg and Madrid. Stage Entertainment will join Advance's strong portfolio of creative media and technology companies which include Condé Nast and Condé Nast International (Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ and The New Yorker) and Reddit.

A multi-jurisdictional CMS team across the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Russia and Luxembourg supported Advance on the acquisition. The team was jointly led by London partners John Enser and Louise Wallace and Amsterdam partner Reinout Slot.

John Enser comments: “We are delighted to support our longstanding client on this exciting development. The addition of Stage Entertainment to the Advance family perfectly supports Advance's creative vision and provides a strong home for Stage Entertainment to flourish.”

Louise Wallace adds: "This was a complex acquisition coordinated across eight jurisdictions, involving a team of Corporate, Media, Real Estate, Tax, Employment and Share Incentives, IP, Competition and Banking specialists. It is a great example of CMS working seamlessly together across various disciplines and time zones to deliver highly specialised advice under a challenging timescale.”

The CMS team also included senior associate Michelle Kirkland (Corporate – London), partner Katja van Kranenburg (Amsterdam) who led the Employment and Incentives teams with partner Andrew Quayle (London), and partner Andreas Otto (Berlin) who led the Real Estate team. They were supported by over 100 lawyers across CMS.