SFX Entertainment Files for Bankruptcy
The tumultuous year for SFX Entertainment continued today as the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company in charge of Tomorrowland, Electric Zoo, Mysteryland, and Beatport appears to be facing an unstable future.
With the bankruptcy filing, the company will see some massive changes. The first of which will see founder Robert F.X. Sillerman replaced as CEO of the company. Sillerman created SFX Entertainment in 2012 hoping to create a dance music empire; however, seemed to find the opposite in three short years. Additionally, the company will be taken private and will eliminate more than $300 million of the entertainment group’s debt.
With the bankruptcy deal, a small group of SFX’s bondholders will provide $115 million in financing for the company to swap their debt to equity. This is good news for the aforementioned festivals, as they are scheduled to go on as planned; those who recently purchased their tickets to Tomorrowland do not have to worry.
The one festival that seems to be in limbo, however, is the United States’ TomorrowWorld. While the results of last year’s festival still loom large, there has still not been any information released about the Atlanta festival that takes place in September. Many seem to believe that the poor management of last year’s weather combined with SFX’s financial issues, and now filing for bankruptcy, could spell the end of the magical weekend at Chattahoochee Hills. However, TomorrowWorld spokesperson Debby Wilmsen assured fans today that “the festival will have a bright future in the United States.”
The saga of SFX Entertainment continues to be a winding one. We hope to see a quick response and resolution to the situation to make sure that some of our favorite festivals in the world remain untouched and unharmed.
H/T: New York Times
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