Ticketmaster, Live Nation Fall on Justice Request

Ticketmaster, Live Nation Fall on Justice Request (Update2)


it does not look good for TMTK

By Matt Townsend

March 20 (Bloomberg) -- Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc., owner of the world’s largest ticket-selling network, and Live Nation Inc., the largest concert promoter, fell in U.S. trading after saying the U.S. Justice Department requested more information on their proposed merger.

Live Nation fell 40 cents, or 14 percent, to $2.52 at 4:05 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Ticketmaster dropped 12 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $3.97 in Nasdaq Stock Exchange composite trading.

The companies said today in a statement they expect the deal to close before the end of the year.

Ticketmaster, based in West Hollywood, California, and Live Nation, based in Beverly Hills, announced their plans to merge on Feb. 10. The companies said at the time the enterprise value of the deal was about $2.5 billion.

The day after the deal was announced, the Justice Department opened its investigation. The two companies would control 80 percent of concert ticket sales if they merged, Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, said Feb. 11.

After reviewing the additional material, the government may file an injunction to stop the merger if it believes it would violate antitrust laws, according to guidelines in the Hart- Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.

The government received 1,656 pre-merger notifications in 2008, according to the Justice Department’s Web site. Investigations were launched into 84 mergers and the government made a second request, like it did today, for information in 20 cases.

Some lawmakers expressed concern about the deal at a hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary committee on Feb. 24. Democratic chairman Herb Kohl of Wisconsin said during the hearing the merger would put “a stranglehold on all segments of the concert business.”

The companies’ chief executives defended the deal, saying the combination wouldn’t hurt competition or mean higher ticket prices.

To contact the reporter on this story: Matt Townsend in New York mtownsend8@bloomberg.net.