Britain's competition regulator provisionally ruled against the planned merger of Ticketmaster Entertainment and Live Nation today, saying it could lead to higher prices and less competition.
The Competition Commission said in a statement on Thursday the merger between the ticketing group and the world's largest concert promoter could damage the market for the sale of live music tickets.
It said it was concerned the plan could damage an existing partner of Live Nation's, CTS Eventim, a new competitor in the British market.
"We believe that, if the merger proceeds, Live Nation will seek to limit its relationship with CTS, with the effect of putting CTS's future prospects in the UK in considerable doubt," the Commission's Christopher Clarke said.
In response, the Commission said it would propose certain remedies, such as the divestment of the British business of either Ticketmaster or Live Nation, or measures to ensure a smaller player can survive.
The Commission will consider responses to this proposal before publishing its final report, due on November 24th.
The two groups announced their plan to merge earlier this year but it has raised antitrust concerns on both sides of the Atlantic and is being examined by the US Department of Justice.
Reuters