Ambassador Theatre Group to Become Majority Shareholder of Bb Group
Rick Miramontez / Andy Snyder
rick@oandmco.com / andy@oandmco.com
212-695-7400
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE
AMBASSADOR THEATRE GROUP
TO BECOME
MAJORITY SHAREHOLDER OF
BB GROUP
New York (April 21, 2015) – Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) – the world’s number one live-theatre company – has agreed terms to become the majority shareholder of BB Group, parent company to BB Promotion, one of the leading producers and promoters of premium live entertainment in Europe and beyond with a particular strength in touring musicals and dance productions throughout Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Founded in 1987 by acclaimed producer, the late Michael Brenner, the BB Group now presents more than 1,000 performances each year, generating more than 1.5 million ticket sales. BB Group is renowned for its creative expertise and its reputation for quality and reliability which has led to strong and enduring relationships with leading venue operators and content rights holders
BB Group’s productions include West Side Story, We Will Rock You, The Rocky Horror Show, Cats, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Ballet Revolución. BB Group’s presentation of The Lion King opened in Switzerland on 12 March 2015 and their production of The Bodyguard opens in Cologne in November 2015.
The BB Group has also recently won a tender to re-develop the “Staatenhaus” in Cologne as a 1,700 seat theatre. The “Staatenhaus” will replace the temporary Cologne Musical Dome and will be the top venue for musicals in the Rhine-Ruhr region of Germany.
The Brenner family, particularly Michael’s children Marius Brenner and Antonia Brenner will remain with the company and will continue as active shareholders. Ralf Kokemüller will remain as CEO leading the highly regarded senior management team who will also continue with BB Group.
ATG and BB Group’s joint creative and financial resources will be applied in the development of many more co-productions and the further extension of an international distribution network.
BB Group’s CEO, Ralf Kokemüller, said:
“We are delighted to have in ATG a partner who shares our passion for theatre and the first-class execution thereof. With the foundation of many international activities together, and our already well established joint vision of bringing the very best quality entertainment to our audiences, all of us at BB Group are very much looking forward to an exciting future in partnership with ATG.”
In a joint statement, ATG’s Joint CEO’s, Sir Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire OBE, said:
“We have a long established friendship and business relationship with the BB Group and have great respect for the Brenner family and the BB Management team, having been engaged in tours together for many years. Michael was a dear friend; a visionary who devoted his life to live entertainment and BB Group is a wonderful legacy to this great man.
“Germany is a theatre-loving nation, boasting a vibrant theatre scene and some of Europe’s finest theatres, so to bring our two companies together as a platform for further growth is a hugely exciting proposition.”
About Ambassador Theatre Group
ATG is British theatre’s great commercial success story. Co-founded by Sir Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire OBE in 1992, the Ambassador Theatre Group Ltd (ATG) is the world’s number one live-theatre company with a total of 39 venues in Britain and on Broadway and an internationally recognised award-winning theatre producer with productions in the West End and on Broadway and touring productions in the UK, North America, Australia and Asia. ATG is also the market leader in theatre ticketing services through ATG Tickets, LOVETheatre and Group Line.
ATG presents an average of 30 productions a year, demonstrating the unique quality and range of ATG Productions in a diverse number of theatres and markets worldwide. ATG has been behind some of the most successful and innovative productions in Britain and internationally and has subsidiary offices in London, New York and Sydney.
ATG production companies and partnerships include Sonia Friedman Productions (SFP), First Family Entertainment (FFE), Jerry Mitchell Productions, Jamie Lloyd Productions and Theatre Royal Brighton Productions.
Current and recent ATG co-productions include The Ruling Class starring James McAvoy, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown starring Tamsin Greig, Richard III starring Martin Freeman, East is East starring Jane Horrocks, Arcadia, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels starring Robert Lindsay and Rufus Hound, Jersey Boys, Rock of Ages, Macbeth starring James McAvoy, The Hothouse starring Simon Russell Beale and John Simm, The Pride starring Hayley Atwell and Mathew Horne, Passion Play starring Zoë Wanamaker, Posh, Jumpy starring Tamsin Greig and Constellations starring Rafe Spall and Sally Hawkins (Royal Court at the Duke of York’s), Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5 The Musical, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Legally Blonde the Musical, Monty Python’s Spamalot, The Rocky Horror Show, Goodnight Mister Tom, The Mystery of Charles Dickens, Lincoln Center’s production of South Pacific starring Samantha Womack and Paulo Szot, All New People starring Zach Braff, Ghost the Musical, Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker!, Being Shakespeare starring Simon Callow, The Misanthrope starring Damian Lewis and Keira Knightley, West Side Story and Guys and Dolls starring Ewan McGregor.
ATG performs to more customers than any other theatre company bringing compelling musicals and plays to almost a quarter of the UK population (including over 6 million households.)
ATG Tickets issues more than 11 million tickets annually and www.atgtickets.com is the UK’s most visited theatre website with 120 million page views and 20 million unique visits per annum. ATG also boasts the UK’s largest theatre membership scheme, ATG TheatreCard, with over 100,000 members.
For further information please contact David Bradbury, ATG Group PR & Communications Officer on 07884 067 455 or email davidbradbury@theambassadors.com
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