MUSIC NEWS - Live Nation and Ticketmaster Entertainment's rumored merger is expected to be announced on Tuesday. The Wall Street Journal reported that merger talks were at the final stages on Sunday night, after the Grammy Awards. WSJ says senior management and board members of the two firms will manage the combined entertainment conglomerate. Plans have the new outfit being called Live Nation Entertainment Inc., WSJ reports. Past rumors claimed the combined company would be called Live Nation Ticketmaster. The merger would create a combined compnay valued at $2.5 billion. It would put under one organization some of the biggest concert venues in the USA, the dominant ticket sales company in the country, and numerous management and promotion deals with top performers including U2, the Eagles, Christina Aguilera, Madonna, and Jay-Z.
It's likely that the merged company will face regulatory hurdles as a result of pending Obama administration rules that will view Live Nation Entertainment as a monopoly in the ticket-sales and music-management industry. WSJ stated that sources close to the deal claim they expect a regulatory win on the deal since both companies really aren’t competitors.
Comments