<\/p>\n
Ryman Hospitality Properties<\/strong> has confirmed it is exploring options for Opry Entertainment Group<\/strong>, the owner of the Grand Ole<\/a> Opry<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The Nashville-based real estate investment trust said it had received inbound interest from \u201ca range of organizations\u201d seeking to partner with the country-music entertainment business, and had engaged Morgan Stanley <\/strong>to evaluate the opportunities.<\/p>\n The statement, issued on Wednesday (June 24)<\/strong>, followed a Bloomberg<\/em> report<\/a> that the company was exploring a sale of its 70%<\/strong> stake in OEG<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are incredibly proud of our OEG<\/strong> business and of our role as stewards of these historic and iconic brands, which are deeply important to the country music community and the markets we serve,\u201d said Ryman<\/strong> Executive Chairman Colin Reed<\/strong> in the statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe remain focused on bringing artists and audiences together through iconic live entertainment experiences. We have previously shared our view that enabling OEG<\/strong> to operate outside of our REIT<\/strong> structure over time is important for its long-term growth trajectory, and we believe strategic partnerships can further support its growth.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWith the rise in global popularity of country music and the increasing demand for live experiences, we have received inbound interest from a range of organizations seeking to partner with our entertainment business.\u201d<\/p>\n Colin Reed, Ryman Hospitality Properties<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Reed<\/strong> continued: \u201cWith the rise in global popularity of country music and the increasing demand for live experiences, we have received inbound interest from a range of organizations seeking to partner with our entertainment business.<\/p>\n \u201cIn that context, we have engaged Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC<\/strong> to assist in evaluating potential opportunities.<\/p>\n \u201cWe expect to play an integral role in the continued growth of OEG<\/strong> irrespective of any strategic partnerships being considered.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryman<\/strong> said there were no assurances that any transaction would occur.<\/p>\n According to the statement, OEG<\/strong> is composed of country-music brands including the Grand Ole Opry<\/strong>, the Ryman Auditorium<\/strong>, the WSM 650 AM<\/strong> radio station, the Ole Red<\/strong> venues and ACL Live at the Moody Theater<\/strong> in Austin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The unit also manages outdoor venues, including the Ascend Amphitheater<\/strong> in Nashville<\/strong> and the CCNB Amphitheatre<\/strong> in South Carolina<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Ryman<\/strong>\u2018s hotels are not part of any sale: its owned assets include the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center<\/strong> in Nashville<\/strong> and the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center<\/strong> outside Dallas<\/strong>, which Bloomberg<\/em> reported would be excluded.<\/p>\n OEG<\/strong> generated operating income of USD<\/strong> $68.5 million<\/strong> on revenue of $434 million<\/strong> in 2025<\/strong>, according to Bloomberg<\/em>.<\/p>\n The entertainment unit contributed about 17%<\/strong> of Ryman<\/strong>\u2018s revenue last year, while the wider company carries an enterprise value of $12 billion<\/strong>, the report added.<\/p>\n Shares in Ryman<\/strong> rose 4.5%<\/strong> <\/span>on Wednesday <\/strong>to close at $129.77<\/strong>.<\/p>\n OEG<\/strong> was last valued at $1.415 billion<\/strong> in 2022<\/strong>, when investment firm Atairos<\/strong> and NBCUniversal<\/strong> acquired a 30%<\/strong> minority stake in the business.<\/p>\n Atairos<\/strong> and NBCUniversal<\/strong> continue to hold that 30%<\/strong> interest, leaving Ryman<\/strong> with the 70%<\/strong> now under review.<\/p>\n On the hotel side of its business, Ryman<\/strong> acquired the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa<\/strong> in June 2025<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The company runs OEG<\/strong> as a taxable REIT subsidiary, and has long signaled its intention to move the business out of its REIT<\/strong> structure.<\/p>\n Investor Mario Gabelli<\/strong> has argued that Ryman<\/strong> should spin off the entertainment assets, which he has suggested could command a higher value as a standalone business \u2013 a strategy the company has explored before, according to Bloomberg<\/em>.<\/p>\n Ryman<\/strong> CEO Mark Fioravanti<\/strong> told investors at a Gabelli<\/strong> conference on June 4<\/strong> that the company had made progress to \u201cget this business ready for it to be on its own and there\u2019s a number of different ways that structurally that can happen,\u201d Bloomberg<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n OEG<\/strong> has been expanding beyond its Nashville roots, acquiring a majority stake<\/a> in Southern Entertainment<\/strong> in January 2025<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The Charlotte-based company is behind country festivals including the Carolina Country Music Fest<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Investor appetite for live entertainment has been building, with private equity firm Providence<\/strong> striking a $1 billion-plus deal<\/a> for live-events logistics company Global Critical Logistics<\/strong> in May 2025<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Investment giant KKR<\/a><\/strong>, meanwhile, acquired<\/a> European festival operator Superstruct<\/a><\/strong> in 2024<\/strong>.<\/p>\n On the venue side, Live Nation<\/a><\/strong> said in June 2025<\/strong> that it would invest $1 billion<\/a> in 18<\/strong> new and renovated US venues over 18<\/strong> months.<\/p>\n The Grand Ole Opry<\/strong> began as a radio broadcast on WSM<\/strong> in 1925<\/strong>, and bills itself as the longest-running radio broadcast in history.<\/p>\n It marked its 100th<\/strong> anniversary on November 28, 2025<\/strong>, with centennial programming continuing into 2026<\/strong> under an \u201cOpry 100: Summer of the Century\u201d run of shows from June<\/strong> through August<\/strong>.<\/p>\n No prospective buyers have been publicly identified.<\/p>\n Morgan Stanley<\/strong> will now evaluate potential opportunities for the business, with Ryman<\/strong> due to report its second-quarter results on August 7.<\/b>Music Business Worldwide<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.musicbusinessworldwide.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ryman Hospitality Properties has confirmed it is exploring options for Opry Entertainment Group, the owner of the Grand Ole Opry. The Nashville-based real estate investment trust said it had received inbound interest from \u201ca range of organizations\u201d seeking to partner with the country-music entertainment business, and had engaged Morgan Stanley to evaluate the opportunities. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2474986,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2474985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Ryman-Hospitality-confirms-it-is-exploring-options-for-Grand-Ole.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2474985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2474985"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2474985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2474987,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2474985\/revisions\/2474987"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2474986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2474985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2474985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2474985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n