The Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) will not immediately be able to integrate the 14 theatre venues it has bought from Live Nation (LN) into its portfolio of venues, due to the sale having been referred to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). An ‘Initial Undertakings’ document issued by the OFT orders ATG to keep the two theatre groups separate in order not to prejudice any future referral to the Competition Commission. However, ATG has been allowed to change the LN venues’ email addresses to @theambassadors.com and to use the ATG brand in respect of the LN business. The LN venues may also draw upon finance, IT, health and safety compliance, personnel and other operational support from ATG. A spokesperson from ATG told AP that “The OFT investigation is standard procedure, it was expected and we’re confident that we’ll be able to demonstrate that no competition concerns should arise from the acquisition.” However, press releases and an internal newsletter seen by AP and distributed to all ATG theatres and its newly acquired LN venues have already announced the new group and its combined value of £150m. AP asked Live Nation and the Theatrical Management Association to comment on the OFT referral, but they both declined.
