FRESH VINE WINE AND NOTES LIVE REACH AGREEMENT FOR $350 MILLION DEAL

by LUCY RICHARDSON, Staff Writer, So. Colorado Business Forum & Digest

Colorado Springs–based live entertainment company Notes Live, Inc. announced a definitive merger agreement with Napa–based premium wine producer Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. in a January 29 announcement. The agreement is anticipated to close in June 2024, upon stakeholder agreement and other closing conditions.

Notes Live, Inc., the live music and entertainment venue developer founded by JW Roth, has established three luxury venues across Colorado Springs and Gainesville, Georgia. In August 2024, this will expand to include the Sunset Amphitheater, a $60-million project aimed at enhancing the entertainment industry of Colorado Springs. Additional developments in two Oklahoma cities are also in the works. Roth, a fifth-generation Colorado native, will assume the role of CEO and chairman of the soon-to-be-minted Notes Live Holdings, Inc.

“The Notes Live business plan combines a unique financing strategy that includes public participation that results in a significant economic boost to communities where Notes Live venues will operate,” says Mike Pruitt, chairman and CEO of Fresh Vine. “Community leaders from across the U.S. are teaming up with Notes Live to provide the necessary public contributions for infrastructure because they see the positive impact that a Notes Live entertainment campus will bring to their communities.”

The merger will be an all-stock transaction intended to allocate percentages of the combined company to existing Fresh Vine and Notes Live shareholders. Percentages will be relative based on the current valuations of the individual companies. Per the company release, Notes Live is being valued at $350 million, plus an additional $50 million in gross proceeds from the ongoing equity offering of Notes Live. Fresh Vine is being valued at $18 million.

Upon announcing the merger, Roth says, “On behalf of our team here at Notes Live, we want to thank Mike Pruitt and his team at Fresh Vine for their trust in our vision to build a one-of-a-kind live entertainment and hospitality company. Mike and his team join a chorus of world-class partners in the Notes Live family.”

Lucy Richardson is a copyeditor for Colorado Media Group and a recent graduate of the University of Denver.