States Join Merger Investigation

A coalition of state officials has reportedly joined forces with the Department of Justice in the organization’s ongoing examination of the proposed merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster Entertainment.

While the DOJ investigation continues following several recent requests for more information from the companies, a multistate taskforce, including officials from Pennsylvania, New York, California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois and Iowa, is apparently conducting a separate review of its own.

Sources reportedly close to the matter said the states are looking into what the deal could mean for publicly owned facilities that use TM ticketing, according to Bloomberg News.

Howard University law professor Andrew Gavil explained that the states may be questioning whether the merger could actually make things worse for consumers.

States “have a lot more local knowledge about the arenas and the events,” Gavil told Bloomberg. “They have the ability to add some significant information to the process.”
While reports have pointed to Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett as leading the coalition, a representative for Corbett told the business wire that the AG’s office couldn’t “confirm or deny the existence of multi-state investigations until they have run their course.”