LOS ANGELES, March 12, 2018 – Silver Lake, the global leader in technology investing, has made a strategic investment in the Oak View Group (“OVG”), an entertainment and sports facilities company. This investment will support OVG’s growth strategy, including its arena development projects and other strategic initiatives.
OVG was recently awarded the right to redevelop Key Arena in Seattle with partners David Bonderman and Jerry Bruckheimer, and was an integral part of attracting an NHL expansion team to the market for the first time, generating a deposit campaign of 33,000 tickets in less than two days. OVG also partnered with New York Mets COO Jeff Wilpon and the NY Islanders to form a group that was awarded the right to build a new arena for the Islanders adjacent to the Belmont Racetrack in New York. Additionally, OVG has recently entered the facilities management business through its acquisition of Pinnacle Facility Management, and also owns and operates venue trade publications Venues Now and Pollstar.
OVG’s Tim Leiweke said, “In less than three years, Oak View Group has made a significant positive impact on the sports and entertainment facilities landscape. I am very proud of what we have accomplished in such a short time. This deal with Silver Lake provides us with capital to continue to grow our business as well as invaluable expertise and relationships. I am thrilled to have them as my partner.”
“Technology’s impact on the global media and entertainment sectors has created new opportunities for OVG,” said Lee Wittlinger, Managing Director at Silver Lake. “We firmly believe that OVG is positioned to become a world-class franchise in sports and live events. We look forward to working with Tim, Irving, and their team of category experts as a strategic partner in the company’s next phase of growth.”
About Oak View Group
Oak View Group was founded in 2015 by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff to be a positive disruptor in sports and entertainment. The company currently has more than 200 employees across offices in Los Angeles, Seattle and New York City. OVG’s business divisions include OVG Business Development, OVG Global Partnerships, OVG Media and Conferences, OVG Facilities, Prevent Advisors and the Arena and Stadium Alliance, a select group of top U.S. venues.
About Silver Lake
Silver Lake is the global leader in technology investing, with approximately $39 billion in combined assets under management and committed capital and a team of approximately 100 investment and value creation professionals located in Silicon Valley, New York, London, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Silver Lake’s portfolio of investments collectively generates more than $140 billion of revenue annually and employs more than 300,000 people globally. The firm’s current portfolio includes leading technology and technology-enabled businesses such as Alibaba Group, Ancestry, Broadcom Limited, Cast & Crew, Ctrip, Dell Technologies, Endeavor, Fanatics, GoDaddy, Motorola Solutions, Red Ventures, Sabre, SoFi, SolarWinds, Symantec, UFC and Unity. For more information about Silver Lake and its entire portfolio, please visit www.silverlake.com.
