The US online events ticketing company Eventbrite, founded in 2006 and headquartered in San Francisco (California), has acquired the Spanish company Ticketea to reinforce its position in Europe. Ticketea was started in 2010 and now has a leading position in online ticketing in Spain.

Ticketea offers access to tickets for all types of live events, from festivals and concerts to stage shows, exhibitions and museums. Its website features tickets for top-ranking festivals like Arenal Sound, Viña Rock, Low Festival and Dreambeach, shows like the Billy Elliot musical and the Cirque du Soleil, and museums like El Prado.

Eventbrite offers tickets in 180 countries and territories and its clients include the Newport Folk Festival, Pitchfork Music Festival, Vrienden van Amstel Live, Tomorrowland Spain, Sonus Festival, BigCityBeats and Rainbow Serpent. The acquisition in January 2017 of another company in the sector, the Dutch company Ticketscript, marked the start of its growth in Europe, which it is now seeking to reinforce with Ticketea.

According to Julia Hartz, CEO and co-founder of Eventbrite, "Ticketea's innovative approach to solving challenges for both event creators and seekers, including a robust discovery platform, has helped them achieve impressive brand equity and a strong leadership position not only in Spain, but the broader southern European market".

An incredible synergy
Hartz says of the acquisition: “There is incredible synergy between our two companies from a business, platform, and brand perspective. We’re thrilled to welcome their talented team, who shares our core mission of bringing people together through live experiences."

According to Hartz, Ticketea's 60 employees will remain on the staff, and Javier Andrés, its CEO and co-founder, will become manager for Eventbrite in Spain and Portugal. Andrés says: “We have been building a significant market presence in Spain for nearly a decade and it’s exciting to be recognized by the global leader in event technology. Joining forces brings tremendous value to our customers. We look forward to extending the impact of both our team and technology far beyond country borders to the more than 180 countries and territories where their powerful platform gives rise to millions of events today".

Ticketea informs its users on its blog as follows: “After eight years of adventure, almost one decade helping create and celebrate hundreds of thousands of events, selling millions of tickets in over 150 countries and with our unflagging commitment to culture, Ticketea has found the ideal traveling companion. So from today we will now be part of Eventbrite, the largest events ticketing and technology platform in the world".

On the same publication, the Spanish company explained that this union will give its users access to the largest catalog of events in the world. And to everyone who has already purchased tickets on its website it offers words of reassurance: "Your event won't be canceled and your ticket remains valid".