Ticketmaster - Live Nation merger receives UK regulator nod on revised ruling
22 Dec 2009
In an unusual U-turn Britain's Competition Commission, has approved the merger of the world's largest concert promoter Live Nation, with the largest seller of its events Ticketmaster, just two months after ruling that the deal would not be in the interests of consumers.
The commission announced this morning that it had reached a conclusion that the merger of the two companies would not hurt the interests of the public. However, with opponents trying their best to thwart the deal in the US, the deal's future still remains uncertain.
The commission's revised ruling comes as a result of lobbying by the two companies who argued that the commission's provisional ruling was flawed.
Deputy chair of the commission, Christopher Clarke, admitted it was "unusual" for the competition watchdog to reverse a decision in this way.
In October, the commission said the deal would push up ticket prices, or make it tougher for new companies to break into the ticketing market.
Responding to the commission's objections, Live Nation argued that the two companies exercised less influence on the market than the commission believed.
