ROCKHARZ

Corporate News

DEAG expands its festival portfolio and acquires a majority stake in one of the largest Rock & Metal festivals in Germany: ROCKHARZ

Berlin, 15 September 2025 – DEAG Deutsche Entertainment Aktiengesellschaft (“DEAG”) is continuing to expand its business activities in the open-air events sector in line with its strategy. Through its wholly-owned subsidiary DEAG Festivals GmbH, DEAG is acquiring a majority stake in the ROCKHARZ Festival in Ballenstedt, which is organised by Veruga. With more than 25,000 visitors each year, the Rock & Metal Festival is the largest Rock & Metal festival in eastern Germany and one of the largest in Germany. By acquiring ROCKHARZ, DEAG is strengthening its strong market position in Europe and expanding its festival portfolio. Besides Rockfest Barcelona in Spain and booking for Rock The Lakes in Switzerland, DEAG is now also gradually expanding its activities in the Rock & Metal festival genre, having risen to become the leading producer in the EDM/Techno/Urban Music segment in recent years with festival formats such as Airbeat One, MAYDAY, NATURE ONE, Sputnik Springbreak, Indian Spirit, SYNDICATE, Ruhr-in-Love, TOXICATOR and the Kessel Festival in Stuttgart. DEAG expects the acquisition of the ROCKHARZ Festival to generate synergy effects in areas such as production and infrastructure across segments, as well as in artist acquisition and positive momentum for the touring business and ticketing. The Managing Directors, Thorsten Kohlrausch and Daniela Glogner, will stay on board as shareholders in the event production companies involved and will continue to play an active and long-term role in shaping the festival’s future development.

ROCKHARZ took place for the first time in 1993 and has developed into a fixture on the international Rock & Metal scene in the years since. At this year’s 30th anniversary edition, 60 artists such as Powerwolf, Heaven Shall Burn, In Extremo and Saxon thrilled visitors. Tickets for ROCKHARZ 2026 were sold out just three days after going on sale. This makes ROCKHARZ one of the few festivals in Germany to sell out for the following year within just a few days. The bands Subway to Sally, Alice Cooper, Biohazard and Helloween have already been confirmed for 2026. The festival has been growing for years thanks to a loyal and active community and is characterised not only by its first-class line-up, but also by its comprehensive inclusion concept “ungehindert dabei” (unhindered participation).

“ROCKHARZ is an excellent addition to DEAG’s festival portfolio. We are continuing to expand successfully both domestically and abroad and are consistently implementing our Buy & Build strategy. We continue to see high growth potential in the festival sector. The ROCKHARZ festival will strengthen our market position through synergies with our festivals and across national borders,” said Detlef Kornett, Group CEO of DEAG.

“Over 30 artists from our roster were already part of the line-up – not by chance, but rather a reflection of the close connection between touring and festivals. The fact that a festival of this size sold out after three days speaks to substance rather than hype. ROCKHARZ is a logical addition for us: it combines quality, relevance and continuity. Touring and festivals are no longer an “either/or” proposition. The market is increasingly thinking in terms of integration. That’s exactly where synergies arise – when content, partnerships and reach fit together. ROCKHARZ has it all,” added Oliver Hoppe, Managing Director of Wizard Live GmbH and Executive Vice President of DEAG:

“With its concept of inclusion, the ROCKHARZ festival is a leader in Germany. What’s more, hardly any other festival today can claim to have sold all tickets for the following year within only three days. We are very much looking forward to working with Buddy and Dani and are confident that they will also help us to advance our festivals in a number of areas,” commented Benedikt Alder, Executive Vice President for DEAG’s Festivals segment since 1 June 2025.

“With DEAG, we now have a strong partner at our side. We are thrilled by the cooperative attitude of the DEAG team and the high regard in which our work on the festival has been held to date. Together, we will build on the strengths and unique features of ROCKHARZ and develop them further for the future. We are very much looking forward to working with DEAG and its many partners,” concluded Daniela Glogner and Thorsten “Buddy” Kohlrausch, organisers and Managing Directors of Veruga.

About DEAG

DEAG Deutsche Entertainment AG ("DEAG"), founded in Berlin in 1978, is a leading provider of Live Entertainment, Ticketing, and Entertainment Services in Europe.

With group companies at 25 locations, DEAG is present in its core markets of Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland, Denmark, Spain, and Italy. As a Live Entertainment service provider with an integrated business model and a strong international partner network, DEAG has extensive expertise in the conception, organisation, promotion, and production of live events of all genres and sizes.

The Live Entertainment segment includes the core business areas of Music – covering Rock/Pop, including Urban and Electronic Dance Music, Classics & Jazz – and Non-Music, such as Spoken Word & Literary Events and Family Entertainment. Every year, DEAG organises over 6,000 live events and sells more than 10 million tickets, a steadily growing share of which are sold via the DEAG Group's ticketing platforms: myticket.de, myticket.at, myticket.co.uk, gigantic.com and tickets.ie.

Live Entertainment for all generations and target groups, the development of international markets, and the strengthening of the ticketing area are central building blocks of DEAG’s ongoing development.

Investor & Public Relations
Axel Mühlhaus, edicto GmbH
Eschersheimer Landstraße 42
60322 Frankfurt am Main
Tel: +49 69 905505-52
Email: deag@edicto.de