Antitrust woes for Ticketmaster, Live Nation?

updated 5:36 p.m. ET Feb. 6, 2009

LOS ANGELES - A proposed merger of concert promoter Live Nation Inc. and ticketing giant Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. is expected to be announced within days, but antitrust concerns could delay its completion.

Board members for at least one of the companies were meeting Friday, and the announcement of the merger of equals was being planned for Monday morning, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

The merger negotiations were reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal.

The deal would match the world's dominant ticket seller, Ticketmaster, with Live Nation, which was once its biggest client. Live Nation is the world's No. 1 concert promoter, owns 140-plus venues and has multiyear comprehensive rights deals covering the tours of Madonna, Jay-Z, U2, Nickelback and Shakira.

Live Nation ended a long-term contract to sell its concert tickets through Ticketmaster last year, and launched its own ticketing service for its venues in January. That threatened to siphon at least 15 percent of Ticketmaster's revenue and had set the two companies up for a head-to-head fight to win ticketing contracts.

A merger would quell that fight — which could raise the ire of regulators, antitrust experts said.

"Live Nation became an important rival to Ticketmaster," said Marc Schildkraut, a Washington-based antitrust lawyer and former assistant director at the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition. "Ticketmaster turns around and says, `Oops, let's buy Live Nation.' That could be a concern for antitrust authorities."

Because both companies are large — with market capitalizations of around $400 million — they are required to submit a notice to the Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department for review of antitrust issues.

That review could take months — or even longer than a year — particularly in light of previous Justice Department investigations into allegations that Ticketmaster behaved like a monopoly.

In 1994, Pearl Jam complained to the government that Ticketmaster refused to agree to low concert ticket prices and fees, and that the grunge band couldn't organize a tour without Ticketmaster's cooperation. The case was dismissed a year later. Attorney General Janet Reno said then that new enterprises were entering the ticketing business.

Today, Ticketmaster is still the world's main force in ticketing.

It sold 141 million tickets in 2007. Aside from concerts, theater shows, and family events, it has deals with the NFL, NBA and NHL and the Premier League of U.K. football.

Although ticket resale sites have gained in popularity, such as eBay Inc.'s StubHub or RazorGator.com, they rely for their supply on ticket brokers or consumers who bought tickets mainly from Ticketmaster first and are reselling them at a profit.

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