THE SM Group has forged a deal to bring House of Blues to the Philippines, marking the chain of live music concert halls and restaurants’ maiden franchise outside the United States.

Edgar C. Tejerero, president of SM Lifestyle Entertainment, Inc., said the company will break ground on House of Blues in November at the SM Aura Premier in Taguig City with opening slated by June or July next year.

House of Blues will have four multi-function rooms, with a capacity of 200, 400, 600 and 1,800 people.

“We’ve analyzed the bookings we have here in the [Mall of Asia] Arena and SM Tickets. We’re seeing there are a lot of opportunities for 2,000- to 3,000-seating capacity venue for smaller concerts. We decided to bring House of Blues for a smaller venue for those acts,” Mr. Tejerero said.

House of Blues has over 10 music concert halls in the US, he said. It is owned by California-based Live Nation Entertainment, one of the world’s biggest entertainment companies.

“We have a good relationship with Live Nation because of the Mall of Asia Arena. Most of the concerts are here, especially the big ones. As we talk quite often, we talk about a lot of things,” Mr. Tejerero said.

SM Lifestyle Entertainment integrates the lifestyle and entertainment services of the SM Group.

It carries 12 major brands, including SM Cinema, IMAX, Director’s Club Cinema, WM Cinemas, Snack Time, SM Tickets, ePlus Tap to Pay, ePlus Digital, Mall of Asia Arena, SM Science Center, SM Bowling Center and SM Skating Rink.

“We’re the soft part of SM Prime,” Mr. Tejerero said, referring to SM Prime Holdings, Inc.

SM Prime is the holding firm for the mall, residential, office and tourism development businesses of the Sy family.

It is part of SM Investments Corp., which has core businesses in retail, banking and real estate. The family also has interests in gaming, geothermal energy and infrastructure.