AEG Presents acquires Auguri Productions, which has worked with Stromae, Angèle, and David Guetta
AEG Presents has acquired Auguri Productions, the Paris-based artist development and concert production company co-founded by Charles Bensmaine.
The deal, announced today (October 15), marks “the next step” in AEG Presents‘ growth plans in France, according to the company.
Financial terms of the Auguri acquisition were not disclosed.
Bensmaine is President of Auguri, which was established in 1995 under the name Olympic Tour.
French holding company Fimalac took a 40% stake in Auguri in 2011. Auguri later operated within Fimalac Entertainment, the live entertainment arm that investment firm Trévise Participations acquired from Fimalac in September 2025 and renamed Rivaj Group.
The announcement did not say whether Rivaj Group, which still lists Auguri among its production companies on its website, has sold its stake.
According to AEG Presents, Bensmaine and his team have “played a key role in launching and developing the careers of numerous major artists from the French and French-speaking music scene.”
Artists named in the announcement include Stromae, Angèle, Louane, Julien Doré, David Guetta, Dominique A, Philippe Katerine, -M-, Gazo, Sofiane Pamart, Tiakola, Gaël Faye, Vanessa Paradis, Thomas Dutronc, Yodelice, and Jain.
Gazo, Tiakola, and Sofiane Pamart now work with Nonstop Productions, which Auguri’s former rap team, led by Morgan Antonutti and Simon Lartigue, launched in 2024 as a separate company within what is now Rivaj Group.
Auguri‘s company boilerplate also credits it with contributing to the development of Oxmo Puccino, Arthur H, and Juliette.
According to the announcement, the deal will open up new development opportunities for Auguri‘s artists, “helping connect local talent with global audiences.”
“Charles and the Auguri team have earned their reputation by recognizing those artists early on and helping them build careers with lasting relevance.”
Adam Wilkes, AEG Presents Europe and Asia-Pacific
“France has an extraordinary depth of artistry, a vibrant live music culture and a generation of artists with real international potential,” said Adam Wilkes, President and CEO of AEG Presents Europe and Asia-Pacific. “Charles and the Auguri team have earned their reputation by recognizing those artists early on and helping them build careers with lasting relevance.
“Bringing Auguri into AEG Presents deepens our roots in France and creates a meaningful bridge between that local expertise and our global platform. I’m thrilled to welcome Charles and the team as we build this next chapter together.”
“I am very pleased to be joining AEG Presents with my team and to open this new chapter in Auguri’s history,” said Bensmaine. “This partnership represents a tremendous opportunity to accelerate our development in the French market while giving the artists we work with even greater access to AEG Presents’ international network and opportunities.
“We share the same ambition: to identify, develop and support artists over the long term.”
“The addition of Auguri Productions to AEG Presents represents a major opportunity to strengthen our growth in the French market,” said Arnaud Meersseman, President of AEG Presents France. “Charles Bensmaine and his team bring unique expertise in artist development and career building.
“This partnership represents a tremendous opportunity to accelerate our development in the French market while giving the artists we work with even greater access to AEG Presents’ international network and opportunities.”
Charles Bensmaine, Auguri Productions
“Their know-how is a perfect complement to our existing activities and will enable us to further strengthen our ability to identify and develop local talent, while offering artists new opportunities both in France and internationally.”
AEG Presents opened its first office in France in January 2018, with Meersseman hired to lead the business.
That launch followed AEG’s joint acquisition of the Rock en Seine festival in 2017 with French media investment group LNEI, now known as Combat.
In July 2025, AEG Presents and Combat, AEG’s partner in Rock en Seine, jointly took a majority stake in Paris festival We Love Green, in an alliance that also includes festival co-founder Because Group.
We Love Green has hosted the first festival performances in France of artists including Angèle, as MBW reported at the time.
The Auguri acquisition follows two other European moves by AEG Presents in September.
On September 4, the company launched Berlin-based AEG Presents Germany, building on the “partnership stake” it acquired in German promoter MCT Agentur in December 2024.
Ten days later, AEG Presents invested in Greenhouse Talent, the concert promoter that operates across Belgium and the Netherlands.
At the time, Wilkes pointed to AEG Presents‘ “continued growth in the UK, France, Norway and Germany.”
AEG Presents‘ rival Live Nation has also been expanding in France.
In January, Live Nation agreed to acquire Paris La Défense Arena from Ovalto, the holding company that also owns rugby union club Racing 92.
The venue has a capacity of 45,000 when configured for concerts.
The arena was renamed Plenitude Arena in July. Live Nation told AFP on September 30 that it had completed the deal, giving the company its first venue in France.
France’s competition authority, the Autorité de la concurrence, had been reviewing the deal. It said the same day that it would not rule on it, because the acquisition no longer met France’s merger-review thresholds after they were raised on September 1, and Live Nation had withdrawn its notification.
The authority said that its case team had not ruled out all risk of harm to competition at the time of the withdrawal, and that it would remain vigilant about the deal’s effects on the markets concerned.
Ticketing revenues from music and variety shows in France reached a record EUR €1.6 billion (excluding tax) in 2024, up 13% YoY, according to France’s Centre national de la musique (CNM). The CNM said that growth was boosted significantly by the four Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies.
Acts performing French-language shows made up 49% of all acts programmed in France that year.
Of the CNM’s top 10 shows and tours by attendance in 2024, excluding festivals, all but one featured French-speaking acts, with the Moulin Rouge‘s Féerie revue in first place. The exception was Taylor Swift; the four Paris 2024 ceremonies also ranked high on the list.
AEG Presents‘ festival portfolio includes Coachella, Stagecoach, British Summer Time at Hyde Park, Rock en Seine, We Love Green, and All Points East.
Unlike Live Nation, AEG Presents does not publicly report its financial results.Music Business Worldwide
