U.K. Competition Authority Provisionally Clears LN-Gaiety/MCD Merger

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally cleared the merger between Live Nation and MCD, following the clearance by Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).

“The CMA has provisionally found that the anticipated acquisition by LN-Gaiety of MCD may not be expected to result in an SLC [significant lessening of competition] as a result of vertical effects in the promotion of Live Music Events in Ireland, including in Northern Ireland, through the foreclosure of MCD’s rivals from Ticketing Services,” the CMA states.

The full reasoning of the CMA can be found here.

In short, while the authority found that “Live Nation/Ticketmaster would have the ability to engage in a total foreclosure strategy against Aiken after the end of Aiken’s contract with Ticketmaster, or sooner,” it also found that Live Nation had no incentive to do so.