LN-Gaiety MCD Productions Merger Probed In Ireland

Conal McSweeney – Electric Picnic
The popular Irish festival is part of LN-Gaiety

Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) will investigate the acquisition of MCD Productions by LN-Gaiety.

“Following a preliminary investigation, the CCPC has determined that a full investigation is required in order to establish if the proposed transaction could lead to a substantial lessening of competition in any market for goods or services in the State,” a statement on the watchdog’s website states.

Details on the CCPC decision to proceed with what it calls “Phase 2 investigation” will be published within the next 60 days, after allowing the parties the opportunity to request that confidential information be removed from the published version.

LN-Gaiety Holdings Limited, the UK incorporated joint venture between Live Nation UK Limited and Gaiety Investments, announced the acquisition of Irish promoter MCD Productions in August.

Live Nation UK chairman Denis Desmond is both the co-owner of Gaiety Investments alongside his wife, as well as the co-founder and owner of MCD Productions. The acquisition would have brought MCD under the LN-Gaiety banner.

Desmond was instrumental in building MCD into one of the world’s renowned promoters, bringing the world’s biggest acts to Ireland, including local heroes U2, Guns N’Roses, Taylor Swift, Madonna,  Coldplay, Eminem, Beyoncé, Michael Bublé, and many more.

LNG owns the Academy venue group in the UK, including Brixton Academy, promoter Festival Republic, and a number of festivals in the UK and Europe, including Reading, Leeds, Latitude and, most recently, Isle Of Wight Festival.