Ticketmaster, Cablevision Close To Deal For Promoter AEG Live
Ticketmaster and MSG Entertainment parent company Cablevision are close to a deal to "acquire about 49% of AEG Live, the live entertainment arm" of AEG, according to sources cited by Ray Waddell of BILLBOARD. Contacts at the three companies declined comment. Sources said that Fuse TV, which "will undergo a multi-million dollar rebranding effort, will play a large role in the repositioning of AEG Live as a company now armed with a large media component and the world's largest ticketing company in Ticketmaster." The deal gives Ticketmaster a "fully-developed concert promoter interest and a solid ticketing partner, though will not replace Live Nation's estimated 15 million Ticketmaster tickets sold annually" (BILLBOARD.biz, 2/28). In N.Y., Jeff Leeds reports it is "not clear that the various sides have settled on a valuation of AEG Live," but Pali Research analyst Richard Greenfield Thursday speculated that a 49% stake "might be worth more than $200[M]," which would imply a valuation of about $400M. If the deal is completed, AEG Live would "bolster its ties to Cablevision assets'' like MSG and Fuse. A deal also could "solidify the footing of Ticketmaster, which has looked to expand beyond its core ticketing business," as a stake in AEG might "allay concerns about Ticektmaster's future after it severs ties to Live Nation, which has accounted for more than 15[%] of its $1[B] in annual sales" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/29). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Ethan Smith reports the deal appears to be a "response to recent moves by Live Nation," which recently split from Ticketmaster, representing a "loss of Ticketmaster's largest client." Live Nation has been "signing artists like Madonna to multifaceted deals that call for the company to not just promote concerts, but also sell merchandise and issue new recordings." Under the agreement, Ticketmaster would get 15% of AEG Live and Cablevision would take 34%, though sources said that the current talks "could still collapse" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/29).
|
