Vancouver-based event ticket retailer Northern Tickets has been acquired by Ticketfly, a San Francisco-based ticketing service.
Northern Tickets is the in-house ticketing service for The MRG Group, which owns, operates and manages a number of event venues across Canada, including the Vogue Theatre. As of the new deal, Ticketfly will take over Northern Tickets as the ticket retailer for some of Canada’s most prestigious venues.
Vancouver’s Vogue Theatre and International Jazz Festival will now be ticketed by Ticketfly, helping to build on the company’s growing revenues. In 2014, Ticketfly reached $1 billion in cumulative gross ticket sales since its opening in 2009. Last year the company sold a total of 16 million tickets to events around North America.
With its recent acquisition, Ticketfly continues to grow.
“Acquiring Northern Tickets and adding The MRG Group—owner and operator of legendary venues including Vancouver’s Vogue Theatre—to our client roster marks another momentous day in Ticketfly’s history. We are delighted to welcome them to the family,” said Andrew Dreskin, co-founder and CEO of Ticketfly.
“We’ve seen tremendous growth in Canada since launching there a couple years ago, with ticket sales up 80 percent year-over-year in 2014 alone. We’ve become the go-to solution for independent venues and promoters across Canada, and we believe that this transaction signals continued growth for us there.”
Ticketfly utilizes world class technology to market, sell and analyze the success of live event experiences and was named one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies in Music” in 2015.
Matt Gibbons, president of The MRG Group, cited the company’s experience with innovative technology as a reason for the acquisition.
“What we saw in Ticketfly was not only world class technology, but world class people with a shared belief in delivering the best experiences for fans. This is a merger of two great teams that will benefit immensely from one another. By partnering with Ticketfly, which offers the best integrated technology platform for live events, we at The MRG Group can focus on what we do best: providing exceptional hospitality.”
It is currently unknown how much Northern Tickets was sold for.