CVC Capital Partners ("CVC") announced today that the CVC Growth Fund has agreed to invest in DTI Management ("DTI"), one of the largest suppliers of live event ticket inventory to leading online marketplaces through its unique inventory management platform. CVC and New Amsterdam Growth Capital, which is also investing in the Company alongside CVC, provided $75 million of funding.
Established in 2012 and based in Alexandria, Virginia, DTI streamlines live event ticket distribution, and provides a more controlled secondary ticket selling environment for sports teams, event producers, music artists, venues, and ticket brokers. DTI's current partners include the Cleveland Cavaliers, New Jersey Devils, and Phoenix Suns. DTI also supplies ticket inventory to various partners, including StubHub, SeatGeek, Vivid Seats, and Ticketmaster.
"We are very excited to partner with CVC for our next phase of growth as we continue to develop a transparent and accountable global distribution platform for sports and live entertainment tickets," said Curtis Cheng, Founder and CEO of DTI. "This investment will allow DTI to continue scaling our platform, which has emerged as the leading choice for ticket brokers, and to secure access to large scale ticketing deals on their behalf. It will also enable us to continue to invest in expanded technology and product offerings in order to support our vision of being the global leader in the distribution of sports and live entertainment tickets."
The online event ticket sales industry has been growing steadily amid the shift from physical tickets and at-home printing to a fully digital and mobile ticketing experience. Online ticket sellers are expected to remain the main source for fans to buy tickets for sporting events, concerts, festivals, and public appearances.
"DTI is a clear industry leader, bringing transparency and accountability to the secondary ticket selling environment, while also providing value to key constituents in the ticket value chain," said John Clark, Managing Partner of CVC Growth Partners. "The secondary ticketing market has seen strong growth in recent years, and we are excited to partner with Curtis and his management team."
CVC Growth Partners has previously announced investments in Kount, a leading U.S. provider of online and mobile fraud detection and prevention solutions, and in Wireless Logic, Europe's leader in M2M networks. CVC Growth Partners manages $1 billion in equity commitments.