Comcast-Spectacor Completes Paciolan Acquisition

PHILADELPHIA (Celebrityaccess MediaWire) — Philadelphia-based Comcast-Spectacor has completed the acquisition of venue ticketing and software provider Paciolan from the Ticketmaster subsidiary of Live Nation Entertainment. In keeping with company policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. As a result of the acquisition, Comcast-Spectacor will now own Paciolan's ticketing platform and other technology, together with the company's various accounts.

Through this acquisition, Comcast-Spectacor has expanded their venue-related offerings with ticketing capabilities in addition to their existing service which include management of facilities (through Global Spectrum), providing catering and providing food and beverage sales (through Ovations Food Services) and selling naming rights and sponsorships (through Front Row Marketing Services).

As a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast-Spectacor, Paciolan will operate as a separate entity from Comcast-Spectacor's New Era Tickets division, and will continue to provide its services to certain college athletics programs, performing arts organizations, arenas, professional sports teams, and museums. Paciolan will also have the right to list events it services on ticketmaster.com in order to help clients reach more consumers and sell more tickets.

With the addition of Paciolan, Comcast-Spectacor will now be positioned to present arenas, stadiums, theaters, teams and entertainers with numerous options from which to select the ticketing solution that best meets their specific goals and objectives, according to Luukko.

"This is a very exciting opportunity for our company as we continue to grow into a total entertainment provider of national and international scope," said Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko. "Paciolan technology is highly desired and has an outstanding reputation in the industry. As part of the Comcast-Spectacor family of companies, Paciolan will be able to benefit from many synergistic opportunities involving our roster of clients throughout the world.

"We thought very highly of (Paciolan CEO) Dave Butler and (Paciolan Founder) Jane Kleinberger during the period we were minority owners of Paciolan (2004-08)," added Luukko. "We look forward to extending our relationship with both of them and their entire team."

"We are so excited to unite our client-focused approach with the strength of Comcast-Spectacor," said Dave Butler, CEO of Paciolan. "Our tremendous agility and focus, when combined with Comcast-Spectacor's support, will enable us to better provide our clients with world-class ticketing, fundraising and marketing solutions."

Founded in 1980, Paciolan has provided sports and entertainment venues with solutions for all of their ticketing needs for over 30 years. Today, Paciolan powers ticketing, fundraising and marketing solutions for more than 200 organizations in North America, including a range of college athletics programs, performing arts organizations, arenas, professional sports teams, museums and attractions. Paciolan sold more than 100 million tickets in 2009. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers