Pacha's Parent Company in Talks to Acquire Avant Gardner and Brooklyn Mirage
The agreement is expected to become official on January 1, according to BKMAG.
Rachel Narozniak
Pacha’s parent company, FIVE Holdings, has reportedly finalized a deal with Axar Capital Management to buy Avant Gardner, the East Williamsburg-based indoor-outdoor event complex home to the Brooklyn Mirage (its flagship venue), The Great Hall, and Kings Hall. The agreement, first reported by BKMAG based on intel from an anonymous industry source, is expected to become official on January 1. Under its terms, the Mirage will become Pacha New York, ushering the nightlife brand back into New York for the first time since Pacha NYC closed in 2016 after a decade-long run in Hell’s Kitchen.
If finalized, the deal will draw the interminable Mirage saga to a close once and for all. The fate of the dance/electronic hotspot has been stuck in limbo following its sprawling $30-million renovation and subsequent failed safety inspections that indefinitely delayed the venue's 2025 re-opening (originally planned for May 1, 2025), ultimately leading Avant Gardner to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy last August, with $155.3 million in debt. Two months later, Avant Gardner filed for full demolition of the Mirage but faced objections from the New York Department of Buildings due to missing documents, according to BKMAG.
Shortly thereafter, a federal bankruptcy judge approved the sale of Avant Gardner’s assets to Axar Capital Management LP for $110 million. At the time, an attorney for Axar stated that the firm could pursue “construction or possibly demolition … in order to get the facility ready for a 2026 season,” per Gothamist. However, no visible preparations for a 2026 season at the Mirage – which has remained closed since October 2024 – advanced before its reported sale to FIVE Holdings.
BKMAG's source described the deal as emblematic of a larger trend involving institutional capital in dance/electronic music and nightlife: "This will have a lasting impact on the New York electronic music market, positioning the Dubai-funded Pacha brand to steamroll independent promoters in the city with inflated talent offers even while consumers are still owed refunds from Electric Zoo and canceled Mirage shows,” they said. “[It’s] yet another example of the dangers of hedge funds entering the electronic music and nightlife landscape.”
As of publication, neither FIVE Holdings, Pacha, nor Axar Capital Management has publicly confirmed or commented on the deal.
