Adria’s Bankruptcy ‘Bullsh*t’

Croatian newspapers are reporting Live Nation’s local partner has gone bust, but company chief Vlado Ivankovic says the stories are “bullshit.”

“Croatian newspapers are often telling bullshit stories without proof,” the Adria Entertainment chief said in response to questions about the front-page reports in major local newspapers.

Slobodna Dalmacija puts the tax debts of Ivankovic’s various companies at around 20 million Croatian crowns (about $4 million).

The paper accused him of “strategically cheating everyone” and serially bankrupting his companies.

“Ivankovic’s business model is always the same,” it said. “He opens a company and when partners start to ask for their money he closes it down.”

Live Nation bought a 25 percent share in Adria at the beginning of last year and recently discovered the outstanding tax debts, most of them incurred before it got involved with the company.

Live Nation European president of concerts John Reid has not commented on his company’s Croatian problems.

However, LN is understood to have lawyers checking into the tangled tax web surrounding Adria and examining the company accounts.

Ivankovic admits Adria has “problems” but says it hasn’t yet filed for bankruptcy.

“It needs to be the decision of the owners. This decision is not yet made,” he said.

In January he’s co-promoting Dream Theater shows with Austrian promoter Richard Hoermann at Ljubljana Tivoli in Slovenia and at Croatia’s Zagreb Arena.

In August they co-promoted Joe Cocker at Croatia’s Pula Arena and Hoermann says he didn’t have any financial problems with his partner, although he did tell Pollstar the name of the company he signed a contract with was different from the one that made the settlement.

Ivankovic is also currently making refunds on a canceled Peter Gabriel show at Zagreb Arena, which was due to happen Oct. 5.

LN shifted the show 250 miles to Belgrade Arena in Serbia and Gabriel’s Real World Productions offered fans “a small gift for making the journey.”