<a href="https://comicvibe.com/all-the-canceled-and-renewed-tv-shows-this-month-september-2026/” title=”All the Canceled and Renewed TV Shows This Month (September 2026)”>September 3, 2026
By Music Business Worldwide
Swiss private equity firm Ufenau Capital Partners and DEAG founder Peter Schwenkow have unveiled plans to build a European group in the live and family entertainment market.
Ufenau intends to back the initiative as investor and majority shareholder, and says it is already reviewing initial investment opportunities.
The firm can deploy up to EUR €100 million of equity over the coming years for suitable investments and further acquisitions, according to an announcement issued on Thursday (September 3).
The aim is to bring mid-sized promoters, producers, and operators together under a common umbrella and to support their continued development alongside their existing management teams, the two parties said.
Each business will retain its individual identity and operational autonomy, according to the announcement.
Schwenkow is one of the initiators of the venture, and is expected to lead the new group and to play a central role in driving its strategic development alongside Ufenau.
Grandezza Entertainment GmbH is also expected to become a complementary part of the group in due course.
Schwenkow plans to contribute his shareholding in the live shows, circus, and Christmas entertainment company at a later stage.
Grandezza will continue to be led by Schwenkow and producer Thomas Schütte, formerly Managing Director at Circus Roncalli.
“Europe’s entertainment market is home to a large number of highly successful, often founder-owned businesses,” said Peter Schwenkow. “Together with Ufenau, we want to offer these entrepreneurs and their management teams a long-term growth perspective as part of a strong European group.
“Ufenau brings capital and extensive buy-and-build expertise; I will contribute my industry knowledge and network. Ralf Flore and I have known and respected each other since our time together at DEAG. I look forward to opening a new chapter in European entertainment with him and his team.”
“I have known Peter for more than 17 years and worked closely with him during my time on DEAG’s supervisory board,” said Ralf Flore, Founder and Managing Partner of Ufenau Capital Partners. “He is an exceptional entrepreneur who understands the entertainment market from first-hand operating experience and has a long track record of successfully building and integrating businesses.”
Flore added: “The market is particularly attractive to Ufenau because it is highly fragmented and characterised by successful entrepreneur-led businesses with established formats and strong regional brands. A larger group can unlock additional opportunities across marketing, ticketing, international expansion and the development of proprietary content.
“Our aim is to realise that potential alongside strong management teams, while preserving the identity and entrepreneurial culture of each business. Peter’s industry expertise and Ufenau’s experience in building European groups are highly complementary.”
Schwenkow founded DEAG Deutsche Entertainment AG in Berlin in 1978 and built the business over more than four decades.
Over that period he promoted performances by David Bowie, Anna Netrebko, David Garrett, and the Rolling Stones, as well as productions including Disney on Ice, according to the announcement.
It adds that he developed proprietary entertainment formats, helped shape venues including the Wintergarten, Friedrichsbau, and Apollo variety theaters and Berlin’s Waldbühne, and led more than 60 acquisitions.
Schwenkow handed over the management of DEAG to Group CEO Detlef Kornett in 2024, then served as an advisor to the company
DEAG subsequently sold Grandezza and its subsidiary Viel Vergnügen GmbH to ELC Entertainment Leisure Consultants GmbH, part of Schwenkow‘s corporate group, in a deal announced on November 3, 2025.
The biography attached to the new announcement says Schwenkow developed DEAG into an international entertainment group with more than €400 million in revenues and more than 6,000 annual shows and events.
DEAG recently reported record revenues of €490 million for 2025, up around 33% year-over-year, with EBITDA more than doubling to €32.1 million.
The company sold more than 12 million tickets over the year, up from around 11 million in 2024, having set that target at the halfway stage.
Ufenau, which is headquartered in Pfäffikon, Switzerland, says it has invested in approximately 500 service businesses worldwide since 2011, and that it advises on more than €5.0 billion of capital.
The firm’s investments have focused on service businesses across German-speaking Europe, Iberia, Poland, the Benelux, the UK, and the US.
In July 2026, its Ufenau VIII Asset Light fund invested in Eco Kart Group, a Germany-headquartered indoor family entertainment operator. That fund closed at its hard cap of €2.12 billion in June 2025.
The plan arrives amid sustained private equity interest in the live entertainment business.
KKR acquired European festival operator Superstruct Entertainment from Providence Equity Partners in a $1.4 billion deal in 2024, with CVC subsequently joining KKR as an investor in the company.
Ufenau and Schwenkow say they aim to build a leading mid-market group in the European live and family entertainment sector over the coming years, and would welcome conversations with entrepreneurs, management teams, and advisors interested in contributing to its development.Music Business Worldwide
