Soda Jerk Presents Acquired by Live Nation

We were fortunate to provide advisory services to Mike Barsch, founder of Soda Jerk Presents, on his transaction with Live Nation Entertainment.  There is an engaging story behind every deal — this was no exception with the basics well captured in the accompanying Denver Post article.

As is often the case in successful exits, the challenges, accomplishments and pitfalls of Mike’s 22-year journey can be too easily obscured — both in building Soda Jerk into Colorado’s largest independent music producer and securing the Summit and Marquis clubs at a time when opportunity in those Denver neighborhoods looked very different than it does today.

Plato wrote that music is the most dangerous of all the arts, for it has the greatest ability to inspire passion. The vibrant history of Denver’s live music scene features many great characters. Mike’s enthusiasm for live music and the community it creates places his contributions among many others in this ongoing story. His activities in service of Colorado’s live music scene may now shift, but they are unlikely to ever cease.