Venu Holding Corporation (NYSE American: VENU) closed a $60 million sale-leaseback on the land beneath its Sunset Amphitheater in McKinney, Texas, on October 21, securing the capital it needs to push through the final stretch of construction on what is shaping up as the largest live-music venue under construction in the Dallas-Fort Worth market.
The transaction was completed with STORE Capital LLC, a Scottsdale-based net-lease real estate firm now privately held by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and Blue Owl Capital’s Oak Street division following a $15 billion acquisition in 2023. The deal covers the property beneath both the amphitheater and its adjacent parking garage, on a 46-acre site at the northeast corner of U.S. Highway 75 and State Highway 121. Venu retains operating control through a long-term lease — the defining feature of a sale-leaseback structure, which allows an operator to monetize its real estate without surrendering the business built on top of it.
Proceeds from the $60 million will be used to retire approximately $20 million in bridge financing that Venu had secured from Ryan LLC to keep construction moving while it worked toward a more permanent capital solution, according to the company’s announcement. The remaining roughly $40 million goes toward completing the venue itself…