The French Competition Authority has approved the acquisition by the GL events group of the management and operation of entertainment and convention venues previously held by the Fimalac Entertainment group through S-Pass Théâtres Spectacles Évènements, subject to a set of commitments designed to address local competition concerns. The transaction, notified on 29 January 2026, forms part of the broader divestment of Fimalac Entertainment’s activities.
GL events is a major player in the events industry, active in venue management as well as a wide range of related services including security, ticketing, logistics and technical support. Through its GL events Venues division, the group manages numerous event sites in France and internationally. In France alone, it currently operates around forty venues, including the Stade de France since 2025.
The target company, S-Pass, manages 23 event venues across France, including Zénith arenas and other performance halls used for concerts, congresses and various cultural and professional events. In addition to venue rental, S-Pass provides several complementary services such as event management, technical support, security and catering.
The transaction represents the second stage of the restructuring of the Fimalac Entertainment group. In September 2025, the Competition Authority had already cleared the sale of Fimalac’s live show production activities and the ticketing solution Wetix to Trévise Participations.
During its review, the Authority conducted an extensive market investigation, consulting a wide range of stakeholders including the parties’ main customers, competitors, sectoral associations and the local authorities that own many of the venues concerned. In France, a large proportion of performance halls, arenas and exhibition centres are publicly owned and operated through public service delegations granted to private operators. As a result, the Authority examined the impact of the transaction both on competition for public tenders to manage these venues and on competition for event organisers seeking to rent them.
The investigation concluded that the merger did not raise significant competition concerns in most markets affected by the transaction. However, the Authority identified a local competition risk in the Marne department in northeastern France. In that area, the acquisition would lead to a situation in which GL events would control all major venues capable of hosting large-scale performances, fairs and public exhibitions. The venues concerned include the Millesium in Épernay and the Capitole in Châlons-en-Champagne, currently operated by S-Pass, alongside the Reims Convention Centre, the Reims Exhibition Centre and the Reims Arena, which are already managed by GL events.
According to the Authority, the concentration of these venues under a single operator could allow the new entity to depart from normal competitive conditions. Even though pricing structures for venue rentals are partly defined by local authorities within public service delegations, operators retain some flexibility, for example through discounts or the pricing of ancillary services that are not always regulated. This could give the merged entity both the ability and the incentive to align its commercial conditions across different venues when dealing with event organisers, public authorities and third-party service providers.
To address these concerns, GL events offered behavioural commitments focused specifically on the Marne department. The group committed to submitting bids under non-degraded conditions when the public service delegations for the venues in Épernay and Châlons-en-Champagne are renewed in the coming years. In practice, this means maintaining the key operational criteria currently applied at these venues, including the number and type of events hosted and projected revenue levels. These commitments are intended to preserve attractive conditions for event organisers and ensure continued diversity in programming.
In addition, GL events committed to establishing functional and commercial separation between the management of the Épernay and Châlons-en-Champagne venues and the rest of the group’s venue operations if it wins future tenders for those sites. Dedicated operating companies would benefit from separate governance structures and commercial autonomy, ensuring that organisers of shows, fairs and exhibitions continue to benefit from competing offers and alternative points of contact. The group also committed to implementing internal training and compliance measures to ensure staff respect the commitments.
The implementation of these obligations will be monitored by an independent trustee. In light of the commitments offered by GL events, the Competition Authority approved the transaction following its Phase 1 review.
