Ticket merger blocked
Live promotion and ticketing giants Live Nation and Ticketmaster remain committed to merging, despite a provisional ruling by the Competition Commission that the move “will limit the development of competition in the market for live music ticket retailing.” The Commission’s report raises concerns about Live Nation’s ability to restrict the supply of tickets to a new competitor, the German company CTS Eventim, but did not find “any adverse effects on competition affecting other ticketing agents, promoters and venue operators arising from the merger”. In a joint statement, Ticketmaster and Live Nation said, “We firmly believe that our merger achieves an important and much needed public interest.” The Commission has suggested possible measures to remedy the adverse effects of the merger, including either Ticketmaster or Live Nation divesting its UK business, and ensuring that any third-party ticket agent such as CTS could sell Live Nation’s tickets.
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