Frieze has been sold to Ari Emanuel, the former CEO of the entertainment group Endeavor, which currently owns the fair group. The news comes just days ahead of Frieze New York, which opens May 7, and amid a prolonged art market contraction.
The deal covers Frieze’s seven global fairs as well as its magazine and London exhibition space, No. 9 Cork Street. The firm will now be owned by a new company started by Emanuel and backed by a consortium of investors. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but the deal is valued at around $200 million, the Financial Times reports, citing people with direct knowledge of the transaction.
In March, Emanuel, who is 64, stepped down as the CEO of Endeavor, which became the majority owner of Frieze in 2016. His departure followed the $25 billion acquisition of the entertainment conglomerate by the private equity firm Silver Lake, which was announced last year. It marked the largest-ever public-to-private transaction in the media and entertainment sector.
“Frieze has always been a source of inspiration for me—both professionally and personally,” Emanuel said in a statement to press. “Having worked with the team for nearly a decade, I’ve seen firsthand the strength of their community and the ambition driving their mission to expand the reach and understanding of contemporary art.”
Frieze New York 2024. Photo: Casey Kelbaugh. Courtesy of Frieze and CKA.
Simon Fox, who has been Frieze’s CEO since 2020, and his leadership team will continue to oversee the firm. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year, according to a spokesperson.
Frieze was founded as a magazine in 1991 and started its first art fair in London in 2003, before expanding to New York, Los Angeles, and Seoul. In 2023, Frieze acquired Expo Chicago and New York’s Armory Show. The 2025 edition of Frieze New York, held at The Shed, will feature 67 galleries and opens to VIPs on May 7.
Speculation about a potential buyer for Frieze has swirled since last October, when Endeavor said that it was exploring a sale of some of its events and assets, including Frieze art fairs as well as tennis tournaments in Miami and Madrid. In November, Bloomberg reported that Emanuel was interested in those events and had raised more than $100 million, including from the asset manager Apollo Global Management Inc. and RedBird Capital Partners. Emanuel’s new company, as yet unnamed, is also in the running to buy the tennis events.
Endeavor’s share price struggled after the company went public in 2021, and Emanuel was not shy about expressing his displeasure. By taking the company private, Silver Lake has aimed to refocus the talent agency on representing sports and media celebrities as well as brands. Emanuel received a cashout of $175.8 million as part of Silver Lake’s acquisition, according to Deadline. While Emanuel increased his equity rollover to $290.3 million ($26 million more than initially agreed upon last year, according to SEC filings), he amended the deal to extract the cash.
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