‘Grand Ole Opry’ Owner Sells Minority Stake to Atairos and NBCUniversal for Nearly $300 Million

variety.com:

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorRyman Hospitality Properties, the Nashville-based parent company of the Grand Ole Opry, has struck a deal to sell a 30% stake in its entertainment operations to investment firm Atairos and NBCUniversal.The transaction values Ryman Hospitality’s Opry Entertainment Group unit at about $1.4 billion in total.

Atairos and NBCUniversal will invest approximately $293 million in Opry Entertainment Group (OEG), which consists of the weekly “Grand Ole Opry” stage show and media rights, Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium, the legendary Nashville radio station WSM-AM and a 50% stake in TV channel Circle, the streaming home of “Grand Ole Opry.” The pact calls for Atairos to invest another $30 million in OEG down the road if certain performance targets are met.

The deal amounts to a sky-high valuation of 17 to 18 times OEG’s projected 2022 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, appreciation and amortization of $80 million-$88 million.

And that is a sign of the feverish M&A marketplace for sui generis IP assets. From its debut in 1925 on WSM, “Grand Ole Opry’s” role in establishing country music as an American art form cannot be overstated.