Live Nation reaches settlement with DoJ over ticketing practices, stock jumps

Live Nation and the US Justice Department (DoJ) have reached a settlement over ticketing practices, the live music entertainment company confirmed. Live Nation’s shares consequently jumped 9 percent on the initial news of a deal.

Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Live Nation’s stock fell 7.3 percent upon escalated DoJ investigations into anti-trust claims made against the company. The allegations? That Live Nation sought to strong-arm concert venues into using its Ticketmaster subsidiary, which is a direct violation of the concert promoter’s 2010 merger agreement that the companies would not retaliate against venues that chose another ticketing service.

Live Nation now says that they’ve reached an agreement “in principle” with the DoJ to “extend and clarify” the merger agreement that was formed in 2010 when Live Nation merged with Ticketmaster.

We believe this is the best outcome for our business, clients and shareholders as we turn our focus to 2020 initiatives,” Live Nation said in a statement.

As a result, Live Nation has bought some time over any punitive actions taken against against them—five and a half years, to be exact. The DoJ will file a petition through December 2025 to negotiate the terms of the original merger agreement.

During its investigation, the DoJ found evidence that Live Nation had “repeatedly and over the course of several years engaged in conduct that, in the department’s view, violated,” the DOJ stated in a release.

 

H/T: Wall Street Journal.