Italy's GSA buys 70% of event security firm ATS
What's the deal? Gruppo Servizi Associati (GSADealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →), one of Europe's largest safety and fire prevention operators, has acquired 70% of ATS — Around The Show, an Italian company specialising in security management for large-scale events. ATS founder Fabio Marsili remains as chief executive officer, retaining a 30% stake.
Founded in 2000, ATS provides security management, ticketing management, access control, and consulting services for public and private events across Italy and internationally. It employs over 300 specialised staff and maintains a network of more than 2,000 certified operators.
Why now? The deal positions GSA to capitalise on growing demand for professional event security. ATS has built a track record managing safety at high-profile concerts — Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Metallica, Beyoncé, U2 — and major festivals like Firenze Rocks and IDays, as well as institutional and sporting events such as Formula E.
GSA chief executive officer Antonio Musacchio said the acquisition "expands GSA's strategic positioning in safety by entering the large-event security sector."
What could go wrong? Integrating a founder-led events business into a large corporate safety group is never simple. ATS's value lies in its specialised workforce and client relationships — both of which can be fragile during ownership transitions. Retaining Marsili with a meaningful equity stake mitigates some of that risk, but cultural clashes between a corporate parent and a niche operator remain a concern.
The signal: GSA's move into event security underscores a wider consolidation wave across Europe's fragmented safety services landscape, where corporate operators are snapping up specialist firms to assemble full-spectrum offerings. With live events growing in scale and regulatory complexity — and Italy hosting an increasingly packed calendar of international tours and festivals — the ability to bundle fire prevention, crowd management, and access control under a single contract gives integrated players a clear competitive edge over standalone providers.
Read more: iltempo.it
