On Tuesday, Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG), one of the biggest players in London’s West End theater scene, said it would merge with Broadway landlord Jujamcyn Theaters.
West End Story Despite the fact that ATG is very much a West End band, it has performed on the international stage before. It owns 58 venues, including two Broadway theaters, in the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States. Jujamcyn, on the other hand, owns five Broadway theaters, including the St. James and Al Hirschfield, making the combined company Broadway’s third-largest operator with seven theaters. The Nederlander Organization, which is the next largest landlord, only has two more, whereas the Shubert Organization has 17.
Even though Jujamcyn is larger than ATG, the relationship may not be completely lopsided. According to the New York Times, Jujamcyn President Jordan Roth will continue to choose which of his five theaters will host shows:
In 2013, Roth became Jujamcyn’s primary owner, and Variety reports that he will serve on the board of the new company and be its largest individual shareholder.
Roth is well-known not only for his outrageous sense of fashion but also for fostering successful shows like The Book of Mormon.
There is still plenty of room for additional… drama because the merger’s terms have not been published and are still under regulatory scrutiny.
A Vue-Located Space: Not all traditional theaters are joining the consolidation train. Following reports that it had received an offer to buy it from Vue International, shares of the British movie theater chain Cineworld, which also owns the Regal Cinemas chain in the United States, rose as much as 28% on Tuesday. Cineworld would be relieved by this given that AMC, a potential buyer, abandoned a takeover proposal in December. Talk about stagecraft.
