MARI to Acquire Majority Stake in Bucket Listers, Unlocking Social-Driven Demand for Live Experiences
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Feb. 4, 2026 – MARI, the global live events and experiences company, today announced it has acquired a majority stake in Bucket Listers, a leading event discovery platform that helps audiences discover and access events and activities in their city, ranging from immersive experiences and pop-up restaurants to cultural festivals and seasonal events.
The acquisition reflects MARI’s focus on building a more connected audience journey – from discovery and choice through to participation and re-engagement. Originally built as a social-first discovery platform and later expanded into original experiences and media, Bucket Listers has built a highly engaged, experience-seeking audience, and a strong social and editorial presence. Alongside its discovery capability, Bucket Listers also develops and produces original live experiences in collaboration with IP partners, such as Mattel, Disney, and CBS/Paramount.
Within MARI’s portfolio, Bucket Listers will complement TodayTix Group, MARI’s global platform for discovering and attending live performances and cultural events. By adding social-first audience engagement and original experiences, Bucket Listers strengthens MARI’s understanding of consumer demand across broader demographics and will support growth across the portfolio into new categories of experiences. “Bucket Listers gives us deeper insight into how audiences discover and decide what to do,” said Ariel Emanuel, Founder and Principal Investor of MARI. “As technology continues to reshape how time and attention are spent, Bucket Listers helps us engage audiences, understand demand more clearly, and build stronger relationships across the MARI portfolio.”
“Live experiences remain one of the few trillion-dollar categories without a destination that aggregates supply and makes discovery frictionless,” said Andy Lederman, Founder and CEO of Bucket Listers. “As we continue to establish Bucket Listers as that destination for both consumers and producers – offering the widest, highest quality selection across markets and categories – we could not imagine a better partner than MARI, with its expanding world-class portfolio of global experiences. We are honored to join forces with Ari, Mark and team, along with TodayTix, on a collective mission to modernize and reshape the future of live experiences.”
Bucket Listers operates across multiple U.S. cities and has built a large, socially engaged community of 21 million around editorial recommendations for events, pop-ups and experiences. Bucket Listers will work closely with MARI’s portfolio companies, while continuing to operate as a distinct brand, led by its existing management team.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
EDITORS’ NOTES
About Bucket Listers
Founded in 2018 by Andy Lederman, Bucket Listers is the go-to guide and platform for discovering the best events and experiences across 20 cities in the U.S.. With over 21 million social followers and 2.5 billion annual impressions, Bucket Listers reaches audiences through social-first storytelling and highly curated city guides. The business operates across three distinct business lines: Bucket Listers App is the destination for locals to discover and book thousands of curated events across all categories, while enabling producers to scale through industry-leading booking, marketing, and creative agency services. To date, the platform has driven three million tickets sold. Bucket Listers Presents creates, produces, and scales original and IP-based experiences in partnership with major studios and IP holders, including the Malibu Barbie Café with Mattel, Family Guy Experience with Disney, and Survivor Café with CBS/Paramount. Bucket Listers Brand Division partners with the world’s leading brands to deliver social media campaigns, digital marketing, on-site activations, and bespoke creative agency services. At its core, Bucket Listers is a community built around exploring our cities together, with a mission of Inspiring Experiences.
About MARI
MARI is a global events and experiences company with a portfolio of world-class live properties spanning sport, art, lifestyle, and entertainment. These include major international tennis tournaments, among them the Mutua Madrid Open and Miami Open presented by Itaú, Frieze, a leading voice in contemporary art, Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, TodayTix Group, a leading digital ticketing and technology company for theatre and live performance, and Barrett-Jackson, the foremost U.S. collector car auction company. MARI delivers live experiences that bring people together, inspire audiences, and shape culture worldwide.