In an SEC filing Tuesday, SFX Entertainment disclosed
that it has "received notice of a preliminary inquiry" from
the Justice Department's Antitrust Division relating to
SFX's proposed acquisitions of The Marquee Group and Cellar
Door concert promotions, according to Marla Matzer of the
L.A. TIMES. Shares of SFX "plunged nearly" 15% on the news,
closing at $26.94, down $3.94 on the NASDAQ. SFX said it
will "cooperate fully" with the inquiry (L.A. TIMES, 9/23).
COULD MARQUEE BE EYEING A TEAM BUY? The LONDON EXPRESS'
John Cassy, writing from Sportel in Monaco, profiled the
"impending" deal between SFX and The Marquee Group (TMG).
The deal would give TMG market capitalization of about
$1.5B, and "catapult Marquee to the forefront of the global
sports marketing and player representation business." IMG
will "provide its only real opposition." Cassy added that
TMG's stand at Sportel was "besieged by businessmen trying
to link with them." TMG President Bob Gutkowski called
rumors that TMG will follow BSkyB in trying to acquire a
soccer team "premature." Gutkowski: "I wouldn't rule it out
in the future but we're not interested at the moment ... It
is simply a question of product and distribution coming
together. It is very logical" (LONDON EXPRESS, 9/20).
