• Business awaits offers from sponsors, deal likely in June
• Current sponsor BaltCap could exit or reduce stake
• M&A spending at EUR 200m-EUR 250m within 12 months

PLG group, an Estonia-based ticketing marketplace operator, expects to onboard a new shareholder to finance its growth via acquisitions, founder and CEO Sven Nuutmann said.

The company is not looking to raise a specific amount, but rather find an investor “with deeper pockets”, as it expects to spend between EUR 200m to EUR 250m on acquisitions in the next 12 months, with half of this coming from equity and the other half from bank loans, he said.

If PLG completes the acquisitions it has planned for this year, its gross merchandise value (GMV) is expected to grow to around EUR 1bn pro forma, up from pro forma GMV of around EUR 560m in 2025, Nuutmann said. The company’s EBITDA would grow to around EUR 35m or EUR 40m, up from pro forma EBITDA of EUR 15m in 2025, he added.

The equity transaction will probably result in a change of PLG’s majority shareholder, although the option of attracting a minority investor also remains possible, he explained.

Sponsor BaltCap, which is PLG’s current majority owner with a 79.2% stake, may exit as a result of a deal or remain with a smaller stake, the CEO said.

BaltCap declined to comment. The private equity (PE) firm agreed to acquire a majority stake in PLG (at the time known as Baltic Ticket Holdings and later as Piletilevi Group) in January 2021 for an undisclosed consideration, as reported.

Nuutman’s entity Angel Rose Capital owns a 10% holding in PLG, while Estonian family office Tristafan owns 10.8%, the CEO said. Tristafan joined as PLG’s investor as a part of its acquisition of Ticketportal, a Czech and Slovakian ticketing platform, in June 2025 for an undisclosed amount, he said.

The CEO added that he personally expects to stay with PLG for another five to seven years, until an exit alongside a new investor although even then Nuutmann might not be interested in selling all his shares.

After speaking with multiple investors, mostly PE firms from the US, the UK and Scandinavia, PLG expects to receive offers during this week, the CEO said. Thereafter, one party will be chosen to proceed to the exclusivity stage, with a deal likely by the end of June, he said, “if all goes well”.

PLG is advised by SEB and Superia in this process, and works with law firms Ellex and Sorainen, as well as PwC on financial and tax due diligence, he said. However, the company may still need another law firm depending on the chosen deal jurisdiction, he added.

Nuutmann told this news service in April 2025 that PLG was looking to raise financing from European junior lenders to support its M&A, in addition to its own resources, existing shareholder equity and support from its lender, SEB.

However, because of its size, management opted to instead explore attracting a new equity investor from September or October 2025, Nuutmann said. The acquisition of Ticketportal doubled PLG’s ticketing volume, as reported.

During the process, which has been ongoing for 14 months, management met with various investors, including those for whom PLG was either too big or too small, but all these meetings “were well invested time for the future”, Nuutmann said.

Acquisitive plans

PLG is currently close to signing one major deal in one of its existing markets, which is likely to materialise this month, Nuutmann said. Moreover, it has non-disclosure agreements “mostly signed” with targets in another six or seven countries, primarily in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region, he added.

As a result, the company can expand its presence to a total of up to 14 countries via acquisitions by the end of this year, he said. It is currently present in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland, according to its website.

PLG is also engaged in early-stage conversations with a target in a southern European country and another one “in the Middle East direction”, the CEO explained.

The company engages local advisors for its acquisitions, he added.

PLG anticipates continuing with the same M&A strategy after onboarding the new investor, namely focusing on acquiring in countries where the company can be a dominant market player, Nuutmann said. Management has no specific limitations regarding the geographic footprint of potential targets, aside from maintaining “common sense”, the executive said. However, its new sponsor’s network in certain countries may be a strong argument to explore opportunities in these markets, he added.

The business is also growing organically, and expects its GMV to reach EUR 600m this year without any further acquisitions, with EBITDA of around EUR 21m from organic growth, Nuutmann said.

The ticketing market in the CEE region has further growth potential, as an average ticket price in the region stands at around EUR 35, compared with a price of around EUR 80 in many Western and Southern European countries, the CEO said. Overall, ticket prices tend to grow because of inflation, as well as the improved quality of entertainment, he added.

PLG’s business combines tickets for various-sized music, culture and sports events, all round the year, ranging from small- and medium-sized local events to shows of A-list performers, Nuutmann said.

The company differs from sector players such as Germany’s CTS EVENTIM or US-based Ticketmaster because PLG is an independent ticketing platform that does not produce its own events, he added.

Founded in 1997, PLG is headquartered in Tallinn and has a workforce of 300 employees, according to its website and LinkedIn profile.