Ticket Marketplace Announces Acquisition of Vegas.com Travel Company for $240M

VEGAS.com is a destination-specific online travel agency founded in 1998 and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. File photo: Randy Andy, Shutter Stock, licensed.

CHICAGO, IL – Vivid Seats Inc., a ticket exchange and resale company, announced during an earnings call with investors on Tuesday the acquisition of the Vegas.com internet domain in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $240 million. 

In a press release, Vivid noted that the Vegas.com domain provides the “most comprehensive event inventory of shows, attractions, and tours in Las Vegas, one of the world’s most desirable destinations for leisure and business travel. Vegas.com also offers an end-to-end travel shopping experience complete with flights and hotels.” 

Calling Vegas.com “the leading entertainment marketplace for consumers exploring Las Vegas,” Stan Chia, CEO of the Chicago-based Vivid, said that the acquisition of the domain – along with a series of additional investments at the company has recently made – goes hand-in-hand with the company’s mission to continue to increase their evolution, growth, and value. 

We are thrilled to announce the acquisition of this strategic asset that will enhance our scale and reach in the entertainment capital of the U.S. and beyond,” he said. “This transaction will increase our scale and reach in this key market, bring incremental unique inventory through strategic partnerships and offer long-term synergistic upside, while increasing our TAM (total addressable market) by over $6 billion. As we continue to expand our reach and capabilities as a leading global marketplace, we are pleased that our strong balance sheet and robust cash flow are enabling multiple strategic investments.” 

In addition to Vegas.com, in August of this year Vivid also acquired Wavedash – an online ticket marketplace headquartered in Tokyo, Japan – in an all-cash deal valued at about $61 million. 

The sale of Vegas.com was made up of approximately $151.2 million in cash and $88.8 million in shares of Vivid Seats’ Class A common stock, reports say. 

Vivid Seats was founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 2001 by Jerry Bednyak and Eric Vassilatos, and later went public in October 2021. Vivid essentially acts as a middleman between ticket buyers and sellers, taking a small commission fee in addition to service and shipping charges from ticket sale transactions.