Liberty Offer Goes Bust

Live Nation Entertainment shareholders were apparently underwhelmed by Liberty Media’s offer to buy up to 34.2 million shares at $12 per, as the March 2 deadline passed with just 310,926 changing hands.

Liberty Media, controlled by John Malone, made the offer in the wake of the U.S. Department of Justice’s OK of Live Nation’s merger with Ticketmaster, of which Liberty was a large shareholder.

Had the company acquired all of the stock it sought, Liberty’s stake in LNE would have been 35 percent, the maximum allowed under a shareholder agreement.

Instead, it rose from 14.3 percent to 14.5 percent. By the time the deadline rolled around, shares in Live Nation Entertainment were trading at around $13.