The two men who started Wacken Open Air in a field in 1990 now own about 5% each of the company behind it. Holger Hübner and Thomas Jensen have sold more of their shares in ICS GmbH (International Concert Service) to Superstruct Entertainment, which now holds almost 90% of the business behind the world-famous German metal festival, German public broadcaster NDR reported from the company's current shareholder list.
What changed
According to NDR, Hübner and Jensen each held around 15.5% of ICS after Superstruct bought a majority in 2019. Each now holds around 5%, and Superstruct, through its German holding company, holds just under 90%. Jensen confirmed the reduction to NDR and said it was a fixed part of the contractual agreements.
He made the same point to IQ in an interview published October 15. “A phased transfer of ICS shares to Superstruct Entertainment was part of the long-term agreement from the outset and has been gradually implemented. As managing directors, we remain fully committed to the ongoing development of Wacken Open Air together with the whole team and the metal community,” Jensen said. He also told IQ: “Without this partnership, Holger and I might sometimes have taken a different path. But if we're honest, most of the decisions that didn't work out were the ones we made on our own, which makes us all the more pleased to have Superstruct Entertainment as a partner.”
Why the 5% matters
The smaller stakes cost the founders something specific. NDR reported that by dropping to 5% each, Hübner and Jensen lose the joint blocking minority that let them prevent changes to the company's articles of association, which under German law requires more than 25% of the shares. Some other rights remain, including consent over transfers of company shares, according to the articles NDR reviewed. Jensen told NDR the company is not looking for other strategic partners, and that Superstruct's support during the pandemic was essential to the festival's survival.
The business is a sizable one. NDR said the ICS group posted revenue of around €64 million and a net profit of around €10.5 million in 2024, with an average of 71 employees, based on consolidated accounts published in the company register at the end of September. The festival itself is run by ICS subsidiary WOA Festival GmbH, whose management now also includes André Jürgens alongside the two founders.
Superstruct's festival map
Superstruct, whose majority owner is investment firm KKR, says it has around 80 festival brands, including Parookaville in Germany and Sónar in Barcelona, NDR noted. IQ reported that the company owns 100% of the firms behind festivals such as Tramlines and Boardmasters, and that filings showed it held 69% of WOA Festival GmbH at the end of 2025.
For fans, the founders are staying on as managing directors. The 2026 edition, the festival's 35th, drew around 85,000 people to the village of Wacken from July 29 to August 1, Pollstar reported, and Wacken returns in July 2027 with a bill that includes Electric Callboy, Five Finger Death Punch and Helloween, according to IQ. The deal adds to a busy month of ownership moves in live music, from AEG buying Paris producer Auguri to Live Nation's Bizarro Chile stake.