DEAG Founder Peter Schwenkow and Ufenau Plan European Live Entertainment Group With Up to €100 Million in Equity
Swiss private equity firm Ufenau Capital Partners and DEAG founder Peter Schwenkow announced plans on Thursday, September 3, to build a new European group spanning live and family entertainment, backed by up to €100 million in equity to deploy over the coming years (Music Business Worldwide).
Ufenau will serve as investor and majority shareholder and says it is already reviewing initial investment opportunities. The venture aims to bring mid-sized promoters, producers and operators under a common umbrella while leaving each business's identity and operational autonomy intact — a buy-and-build approach in which acquired companies keep their own brands and management teams rather than being absorbed into a single corporate shell.
Schwenkow, who founded DEAG Deutsche Entertainment AG in Berlin in 1978 and built it over more than four decades, is one of the initiators of the new group and is expected to lead it alongside Ufenau. His track record runs wide: he promoted performances by David Bowie, Anna Netrebko, David Garrett and the Rolling Stones, as well as productions including Disney on Ice. He developed proprietary entertainment formats, helped shape venues including the Wintergarten, Friedrichsbau and Apollo variety theatres and Berlin's Waldbühne, and led more than 60 acquisitions over his career. He handed over management of DEAG to Group CEO Detlef Kornett in 2024.
Grandezza Entertainment GmbH, a company specialising in the conception and realisation of events, is expected to become a complementary part of the new group in due course. Schwenkow plans to contribute his shareholding in Grandezza at a later stage. He acquired Grandezza from DEAG — a sale first reported in November 2025 and confirmed by DEAG in February 2026 — following a period of consultancy work for the company (IQ Magazine; DEAG). Grandezza will continue to be led by Schwenkow and producer Thomas Schütte, formerly Managing Director at Circus Roncalli.
Ralf Flore is the Founder and Managing Partner of Ufenau Capital Partners. The firm's commitment of up to €100 million signals room for a sustained acquisition campaign rather than a single deal.
For the live entertainment sector in Europe, the plan matters because mid-sized promoters and producers — too small to rival the major touring groups on their own, but large enough to own venues, talent relationships and local audiences — have long been fragmented. A consolidator with patient capital and an operator of Schwenkow's experience changes that picture, at least on paper. Each acquisition will keep its name and its management, which lowers the integration risk that has derailed previous roll-ups in this space. Whether the pipeline Schwenkow and Ufenau are building produces a genuine rival to the continent's established players will depend on the deals that follow this announcement.
