German Ticketseller Files Live Nation Claim

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Live Nation Entertainment Inc. said that it faces a breach-of-contract claim from a German ticketing company related to the Beverly Hills concert promoter’s merger with Ticketmaster Entertainment earlier this year.

To overcome anti-trust concerns over the deal, Live Nation prior to the merger agreed to partner with CTS Eventim AG to create a ticketing system that would compete with Ticketmaster, Live Nation said in a Tuesday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Live Nation was to license CTS’s software and pay a fee for every ticket it sold in North America for 10 years starting in 2009. Live Nation would use CTS as its exclusive ticket-selling contractor in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe.

The Live Nation filing said that CTS filed a breach-of-contract claim on April 5, seeking arbitration by a branch of the International Chamber of Commerce, as allowed by the contract. Live Nation provide few details about the claim, but CTS has complained that LiveNation wasn’t allocating enough tickets to its British operation.

CTS has not yet made a statement about its claim.

Live Nation said “CTS’s claims are without merit and inconsistent with the terms of the CTS agreement,” but warned that if the dispute is resolved in CTS’s favor, a settlement could prevent Live Nation from realizing “the full operational efficiencies that the combined company might otherwise obtain through the merger.”

The disclosure was part of a regulatory filing concerning Live Nation’s plans to enter into a senior secured credit facility that consists of two term loans totaling $900 million and a $300 million revolving credit facility.

In midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Live Nation shares were up 5 cents to $15.59.

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