Artprice (New York) - Thierry Ehrmann

Patrick Drahi's Acquisition of Sotheby's Confirms the Art Market's Entry Into the Digital Era of the 21st Century - Seite 2

For 21 years, Artprice – the global leader in Art Market information and a dedicated digital pioneer – has contributed to the Art Market's evolution into the digital era. Its databanks are today an absolute worldwide reference in terms of exhaustivity, indices and Art Market statistics. Remember that Artprice, via external growth and R&D, was the first global player to produce algorithm indices, using Big Data and Artificial Intelligence based on the observation of billions of connections to our databanks in strict compliance with existing data protection laws around the world.

In his statement, the position of Sotheby's CEO, Tad Smith, is perfectly lucid: he openly welcomes Patrick Drahi into the Sotheby's family: "Known for his commitment to innovation and ingenuity. He has a long-term view with a proven track record in the field of telecommunications, media and digital companies and I strongly believe that the company will be in excellent hands for decades to come with Patrick as our owner."

Likewise, Domenico De Sole, chairman of the Sotheby's board of directors, welcomes the move: "Following a comprehensive review, the Board enthusiastically supports Mr. Drahi's offer, which delivers a significant premium to market for our shareholders."

Several key facts and figures concerning Sotheby's and the Fine Art auction market:

Sotheby's is the world's number two Fine Art auction operator with a total turnover of $3,93 billion in 2018, behind Christie's with $5 billion. Together, the two Anglo-Saxon giants account for over half of the planet's Fine Art auction turnover: Christie's for 32.3% and Sotheby's for 25.4%. Their respective strengths are based on global coverage of the Art Market.

Sotheby's 2018 Fine Art auction turnover by location
Artprice.com

New York: $2 billion (51%)
London: $1.1 billion (28%)
Hong Kong: $554 million (14%)
Paris: $188 million (5%)
Milan: $32 million (0.8%)
Melbourne: $24 million (0.6%)
Mumbai: $8 million (0.2%)
Zurich: $7 million (0.2%)

Despite 275 years of existence, Sotheby's has experienced a number of relatively close  strategy changes:

• 2015: Tad Smith became CEO and the firm terminated sales in mainland China (Beijing) and the Middle East (Doha)
• 2016: 13.5% of Sotheby's was acquired by the Chinese insurance company Taikang Life Insurance, whose CEO is the founder of the Chinese auction operator, China Guardian
• 2017: the firm eliminated buyers' fees from online sales
• 2018: buyers' fees were re-established for online sales

Sales growth at both Christie's and Sotheby's has been around 400% since 2000, comparable to the 450% growth of the global Art Market over the same period.