MUMBAI: A day after the merger of concert industry giants Ticketmaster Entertainment and Live Nation gained regulatory approval, cable mogul John Malone has moved to greatly increase his stake in the newly-formed colossus.
Malone‘s Liberty Media Corp. had put in a tender offer last Tuesday to acquire 34.5 million shares of Live Nation Entertainment for $12 each. If fully subscribed, Liberty‘s stake in the company would more than double to 35 per cent.
The move strengthens the alignment of Malone and Live Nation Entertainment Chairman Barry Diller, who had before two years battled over plans to split Internet conglomerate IAC/InterActiveCorp into five companies.
Liberty Media portrays the investment as simply an endorsement of a business combination that united Live Nation, the world‘s largest concert promoter, with Ticketmaster, the dominant seller of tickets and a leading artist management company.
The merger closed late Monday after the companies agreed to concessions required by the Justice Department and 17 state attorneys general to protect competition in the market for ticket sales.
