Live events mogul Ari Emanuel's MARI is buying ATG Entertainment, the company behind SF's Orpheum and Golden Gate Theatres, in a deal announced August 11. No immediate change to shows or ticket prices.

Live events conglomerate MARI has signed a definitive agreement to acquire ATG Entertainment — owner and operator of San Francisco's Orpheum Theatre on Market Street and the Golden Gate Theatre on Taylor Street — the two parties announced August 11. The deal, valued by the Financial Times at roughly $6 billion, remains subject to regulatory approvals with no disclosed closing timeline. It is the biggest venue ownership change in San Francisco theater in years.

For anyone holding tickets to anything on ATG's calendar: nothing changes. Publicist Kevin Kopjak confirmed to the San Francisco Chronicle that the acquisition does not alter show titles, dates, or prices for any already-announced ATG events. Show up as planned.

MARI — founded in 2025 — is the creation of Ari Emanuel, CEO of WME Group, which owns talent agency WME, holds majority stakes in WWE and UFC, and represents the NFL and NHL. Providence Equity Partners, the private equity firm that has owned ATG, is the seller. Emanuel frames the acquisition as a return to where he started. "I've spent my whole career in entertainment, and I started out in theater," he said in a statement. "This is a long-term bet on where live goes next."

ATG runs 70 venues globally. Its San Francisco footprint is actually three addresses: the Orpheum, the Golden Gate, and the Curran Theatre on Geary Street, which ATG leases from the San Francisco Giants. That lease expires in 2027, no renewal has been announced, and this acquisition doesn't resolve the question. If you have plans at the Curran into next year, watch that situation.

ATG's global CEO Melanie Smith said in a statement that MARI is "the right home for our next chapter" and that ATG will retain creative independence under its existing brand and leadership. MARI has pledged to act as a "long-term custodian" of ATG's theaters — language covering preservation, modernization, and audience experience improvements, without specifying what any of that means at the Orpheum or Golden Gate specifically.

The deal is months from closing and won't touch a single show in the meantime. The longer question — whether a conglomerate straddling combat sports, pro football TV rights, and now historic theatrical houses will push SF's stages toward bigger, more commercially predictable programming — isn't answered by anything released so far. For now: business as usual at both houses.