Live Nation agrees to sell three Boston theaters

[statler]

Boston.com - May 5, 2009

Live Nation agrees to sell three Boston theaters
May 5, 2009 08:49 AM

Live Nation Inc., the world's largest concert promoter, has agreed to sell three well-known theaters in Boston for about $22.5 million, using the proceeds to pay down debt.

In a press release, the company said that it would sell the Boston Opera House, Orpheum Theatre, and Paradise. The deal, expected to close in the third quarter, also includes an earnout clause at the Orpheum Theatre over the next five years.

The buyer wasn't named and the company was not immediately available to comment. (In a press release, California-based Live Nation, a live music and venue management company, described the three Boston theaters as "non-core real estate holdings.")

Live Nation will continue to promote concerts at the three venues.

The company said it would take a non-cash impairment charge of approximately $7.7 million in the first quarter of 2009 to account for the difference between the sales price and the carrying value on the company's balance sheet. (Reuters)

 

[briv]

That seems awfully cheap for all three theaters, doesn't it? If I recall correctly, the restoration of the Opera House alone was publicized as costing around $30 mil just a few years ago.

 

[Ron Newman]

I hope they sell the Orpheum to someone who will fix it up.

If Live Nation will continue to have shows in these theatres, how are they 'non-core' ?

 

[PaulC]

Hasn't the Orpheum been charging a restoration fee since the 70's?

 

[Ron Newman]

Story has been updated to report that "The buyer is Boston Opera House Ventures LLC, which includes Don Law, chairman of Live Nation Boston, and David Mugar, a philanthropist whose family once owned the Star Market supermarket chain"

 

[statler]

Boston Globe - May 4, 2009

Hub music venues land in local hands
Partners in $22.5m deal to buy concert halls from Live Nation

By Casey Ross, Globe Staff | May 6, 2009

Music impresario Don Law's newest act is a reprise of his earlier career.

The longtime rock 'n' roll promoter, who cut his music business teeth in the 1970s pushing bands at the Commonwealth Avenue nightspot the Paradise, is returning to own some of Boston's most prominent music venues.

Yesterday Law and his onetime partner, David Mugar, teamed again, this time to buy the Boston Opera House and the Orpheum Theatre from the concert management giant Live Nation Inc. for $22.5 million. As part of the deal, Law again will own the club where he made his mark, the Paradise.

The three venues will be controlled by Boston Operas Ventures LLC, a new entity formed by Mugar and Law after it became apparent Live Nation was looking to unload some of its local assets.

"Our feeling was that, if it was going to be sold, why not step up and keep the ownership local," said Law, who has been promoting events at the venues for decades. "It really made sense for both sides."

The transaction is the latest in a series of ownership changes over the years that has kept the region's major concert halls rotating among a small group of individuals.

Law, for example, is president of Live Nation's New England operations, and has been involved over the years in operating the trio of venues. He previously owned the Paradise and managed the Orpheum during his long career promoting concerts around New England in the 1970s, '80s, and '90s.

In 1998 Law sold his business to SFX Enter tainment, which included the rights to operate the Orpheum and the former Great Woods amphitheater in Mansfield, now known as the Comcast Center. The deal also transferred control of the Harborlights Pavilion on the South Boston Waterfront, since renamed the Bank of America Pavilion. One of the partners in the business he sold was Mugar.

SFX was then acquired by Clear Channel Communications, which eventually spun out its live entertainment as Live Nation in 2005. Law followed the spinoff to become head of its New England sector.

Mugar, whose family once owned Star Market, is one of the principal supporters of the annual Fourth of July Pops concert and fireworks event along the Esplanade. He could not be reached for comment yesterday.

For consumers, the latest ownership change is unlikely to have a significant impact on the programming or ambiance of the three venues. Law said he does not anticipate making significant renovations to any of the facilities.

In fact, he said, shows at the venues will be promoted by California-based Live Nation, which was primarily seeking to sell the properties to use the proceeds to pay down debt, and to divest assets it considers outside its core business of large-scale music shows. Live Nation, a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, is the world's largest promoter of concerts and owns and manages dozens of venues in major cities in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

In a statement yesterday, Live Nation president and chief executive Michael Rapino said the company is continuing to streamline operations after shedding its theatrical and motorsports divisions last year. "We are actively working to divest our remaining noncore assets as we continue to enhance our liquidity and de-lever our balance sheet," he said.

A Live Nation spokesman said yesterday the company expects to retain ownership of the Comcast Center and Bank of America Pavilion. Those are larger than the three venues the firm is selling and account for the bulk of its income in the region.

The Comcast Center has consistently ranked among the top-selling summer amphitheaters in the country.

Casey Ross can be reached at cross@globe.com.

 

[PaulC]

Law said the Orpheum Theatre will undergo renovations this summer by owner Ronald Druker. ?The discussion is ongoing, but my sense is they will be significant,? Law said.

Who actually owns the Orpheum Theater, Live Nation or slum dog Druker? Either way there needs to be an accounting of all the money collected over the past 40 years as a restoration surcharge on every ticket.


full article:
http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1170380&srvc=home&position=1

Live Nation sells halls

Local co. picks up Opera House, Orpheum, Paradise stake

By Donna Goodison
Wednesday, May 6, 2009 - Updated 11h ago

Live Nation is unloading some of its Boston holdings.

The concert promoter is selling the Boston Opera House, the operating contract for the Orpheum Theatre and half-interest in the Paradise Rock Club for $22.5 million to pay down its debt.

The buyer is the newly formed Boston Opera House Ventures of Cambridge, whose principals are Don Law and David Mugar. Law is president of Live Nation New England, but his new company will operate separately. Mugar is well-known as producer of the city?s nationally televised July Fourth celebration on the Esplanade.


The new owners plan no changes at the three venues.

?Live Nation will still be . . . booking, and they?ll have all the same personnel,? Law said.

The Los Angeles-based Live Nation described the three properties as non-core real estate holdings, which it?s working to divest to improve the company?s liquidity.

Law said his purchase was driven by a desire to keep the Opera House under local ownership. ?It?s an extraordinary building and it?s a beautiful theater,? he said.

All three properties are familiar to Law. ?I opened the Paradise 30 years ago, we?ve managed and operated the Opera House for a few years, and we?ve been involved in the management of the Orpheum for over 30 years,? he said.

Live Nation took over the Opera House in 2006, when Clear Channel Communications spun off its concert division. It purchased its 50 percent stake in the Paradise last year from the Lyons Group.

Law said the Orpheum Theatre will undergo renovations this summer by owner Ronald Druker. ?The discussion is ongoing, but my sense is they will be significant,? Law said.

Live Nation plans to hold onto its other local venues, which include the Comcast Center in Mansfield, Bank of America Pavilion on the South Boston waterfront and the House of Blues Boston, spokesman John Vlautin said.

 

[Ron Newman]

And why do the Globe and Herald reports say two different and conflicting things about Orpheum renovations?

 

[statler]

And why do the Globe and Herald reports say two different and conflicting things about Orpheum renovations?

Law said the Orpheum Theatre will undergo renovations this summer by owner Ronald Druker. ?The discussion is ongoing, but my sense is they will be significant,? Law said

Law said he does not anticipate making significant renovations to any of the facilities.

Ha!

Three possibilities:

a. Law told the two reporters two different things.

b. Herald reporter missed the word 'not'.

c. Globe reporter misheard Law and thought they heard 'not'.

 

[PaulC]

I keep hearing Austin Powers saying '1 million dollars'

http://www.bostonherald.com/busines...1M_Orpheum_revamp/srvc=business&position=also

Druker Co. plans $1M Orpheum revamp
By Donna Goodison
Thursday, May 7, 2009 - Added 17h ago

The aging Orpheum Theatre will get a facelift this summer.

The Boston concert venue will undergo about $1 million in upgrades by its owner, the Druker Co., a Boston real estate firm.

The work will include extensive renovations to the theater?s bathrooms, and new carpeting, paint and other cosmetic work, including some seat replacement.

?The biggest thing is the restrooms will get attention, which they need and have needed,? said Live Nation New England president Don Law. ?Next fall, I think the Orpheum should look better.?

The Druker Co. has owned the Orpheum since the 1950s. Los Angeles-based Live Nation currently manages the venue, but Law?s newly formed Boston Opera House Ventures is buying out that contract under a deal announced Tuesday that?s expected to close in the third quarter.

Law acknowledged it?s been years since the Orpheum has undergone substantial work. ?I don?t think there?s a theater anywhere where you couldn?t always spend more money,? he said.

Built in 1852 as the Boston Music Hall, the venue was home to the Boston Symphony Orchestra. It was converted into Boston?s first movie theater in 1915.

 

[statler]

Well, we are down to a. or c.

 

[Ron Newman]

I e-mailed the Globe reporter last night, asking about the discrepancy, but have heard nothing back yet.