The festival has been owned locally since 1987 by a group consisting mostly of its founders.
For years, SXSW was a financial juggernaut, pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the Austin economy. But Austin and Travis County officials forced it to call off the 2020 festival a week ahead of the event because of the coronavirus pandemic. Without a conference, SXSW cut a third of its full-time staff.
The festival returned this year in a shortened, virtual form but was looking for a financial lift to get back to a full-sized festival in 2022.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed and SXSW officials were unavailable for comment. SXSW says the festival will still be run by the founders' group.