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Event audiovisual providers AVMS and Pinnacle Live have merged, joining forces to become the second-largest in-house partner serving hotels in North America. The deal allows the combined company to offer a wider range of services, among them A/V production, event staging, lighting and sound, and event-technology solutions, as well as event design and planning, logistics and on-site support.
Perhaps most significantly, the merger should give the new company better leverage to compete in a segment that is dominated by just one company, Encore. There are now more than 200 hotels in North America where Pinnacle Live or AVMS are the in-house A/V provider; Encore has partnerships in place with more than 1,700 hotels in North America.
"This was a move I worked on for a long time, and we are excited to be joining forces with Pinnacle Live," said Hobie Fugate, CEO of AVMS. "We are able to blend the best of what AVMS and Pinnacle Live have to offer — exceptional team members, unique event-production expertise, and deep commitment and knowledge of the hospitality industry."
AVMS and Pinnacle Live will eventually operate under a unified brand; more details will be announced in the coming weeks, according to a spokesperson. For the time being each brand will retain its current name and operational structure.
Once unified, current Pinnacle Live CEO Eddy Eisenberg will become the CEO of the new company, with current Pinnacle Live president Natalie Defazio serving as president of the unified brand. AVMS CEO Hubie Fugate will eventually become executive vice president of the combined company.