Concert promoter, ticket firm to merge

2/11/2009
ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES - Concert promoter Live Nation Inc. and ticketing giant Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. confirmed their merger plans yesterday and got right to work addressing anti-trust concerns that have taken center stage.

Ticketmaster Chairman Barry Diller, to be chairman of the new company - which would be called Live Nation Entertainment - sought to dispel the notion that the deal would lead to higher ticket prices.

"Ticketmaster does not set prices. Live Nation does not set ticket prices. Artists set the prices," he said, without mentioning the ticket surcharges Ticketmaster relies on for much of its revenue.

Under the $400 million deal, Ticketmaster shareholders would receive 1.384 shares of Live Nation stock for each share of Ticketmaster they hold. Ticketmaster shareholders would hold 50.01 percent of the new company, Live Nation shareholders the rest. Live Nation Chief Executive Michael Rapino would be the new company's chief executive officer.

The companies estimated the value of the combined business at $2.5 billion and said the deal would help them save about $40 million annually. Assuming it gets approval by anti-trust authorities, the companies hope to complete the merger in the second half of the year.

Live Nation and Ticketmaster argue that together they could better withstand the recession, sell more tickets, and improve service to fans by bringing together their expertise in promotions and ticketing.

The merger was announced as Ticketmaster is under fire for recently redirecting people buying tickets to a Bruce Springsteen show from its regular Web site to its reselling subsidiary, TicketsNow. That site had more expensive seats above face value, even though face-value tickets were still available.

New Jersey's attorney general launched an investigation, and a class-action lawsuit in Ontario claims Ticketmaster made a similar move in November for a Smashing Pumpkins concert.

Mr. Diller blamed the Springsteen incident on a "technical glitch" by a credit card company, and said the Canadian lawsuit was "without merit."

Mr. Springsteen recently posted a statement on his Web site saying the merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation could end up "returning us to a near-monopoly situation in music ticketing."

Analysts believe the Ticketmaster-Live Nation combination could lower some ticket prices because the two companies could present a united front to artists when negotiating business deals surrounding tours. The companies are also seeking to fill more seats in venues that are going empty.

Ticketmaster sells tickets for more than 80 percent of the major arenas and stadiums in the United States, according to concert tracking firm Pollstar.

Live Nation is the world's No. 1 concert promoter and owns more than 140 venues. It has comprehensive rights deals covering the tours of such artists as Madonna, Jay-Z, U2, and Shakira.