Universal Music acquires 50% stake in music fest owners Enchanted Valley Carnival
With this 50:50 new joint venture, UMG is making its entry in the festival hosting business.
The world's largest music company, Universal Music Group, has bought 50% stake in Enchanted Valley Carnival (EVC), an ET report has said. UMG has not disclosed the financial details of the deal. In India, UMG operates through its subsidiary arm Universal Music group India.
With this 50:50 new joint venture, UMG is making its entry in the festival hosting business.
According to a top company official to ET, UMG may expand its foot print in live music gigs, and is already in talks with four other players.
Enchanted Value Carnival, introduced to Indian audiences in 2013 by Twist Entertainment, has flourished to become one of the biggest music festivals in India. The festival is hosted in Aamby Valley city, around 20 kilometres from Lonavala, in December every year.
EVC covers various genres from electronic music to live genres across trance, house, and techno along with other experimental music.
The group has brought together some of the best performers from these genres from across the world.
UMG is an American worldwide music corporation that operates as a subsidiary of Paris-based French media conglomerate Vivendi.
In 2013, in a bid to buy UMG, Japenese SoftBank made an offer of $8.5 billion, but Vivendi declined it.