(Bloomberg) -- Vivid Seats Inc., the online ticketing marketplace that went public through a blank-check vehicle in 2021, is exploring a sale after receiving takeover interest, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The StubHub and SeatGeek competitor is working with an adviser to gauge interest from potential suitors, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. Vivid Seats has attracted takeover interest from private equity firms, the people said.
Shares of the Vivid Seats, which had fallen 40% in the past year, jumped as much as 23% on Monday. They closed up almost 20% to $4.54 for their biggest-ever one-day gain, giving the company a market value of $943 million.
The Chicago-based company’s deliberations are ongoing and there’s no certainty they will lead to a transaction, the people said.
Vivid Seats’s merger with Horizon Acquisition Corp., backed by Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries, valued the combined company at $1.95 billion. Eldridge owns approximately 41% of the firm’s Class A shares, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
A spokesperson for Vivid Seats said it doesn’t comment on “rumors or speculation.” A representative for buyout firm GTCR, which also owns a minority interest in the company, declined to comment. An Eldridge representative didn’t respond to requests for comment.
(Updates with closing share price in third paragraph.)
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