Live Nation to buy Ticketmaster

By Yinka Adegoke

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The world's largest concert promoter, Live Nation Inc, plans to buy Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc for about $400 million in stock, aiming to create a company with dominant holdings in concert promotion and ticket sales.

But shares of both Live Nation and Ticketmaster fell on Tuesday, amid concerns the acquisition would be blocked by U.S. antitrust regulators under the new Obama administration.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer slammed the deal ahead of its formal announcement, calling for a federal probe into Ticketmaster, the top U.S. ticket vendor.

"This merger would give a giant, new entity unrivaled power over concert-goers and the prices they pay to see their favorite artists and bands," the Democrat senator from New York said in a statement.

The merged company, Live Nation Entertainment, would have more than 140 concert venues globally that sell 140 million tickets annually and host 22,000 concerts a year.

It would also manage a client roster of more than 200 big-name artists including Madonna, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus and the Eagles -- thanks mostly to Ticketmaster's acquisition of Front Line Management Inc last year and Live Nation's own efforts to sign on big stars by paying top dollar.

"It's not going to be easy to get approval, though in a vacuum it's a good combination that extends what Live Nation's been trying to do by diversifying," said David Joyce, analyst at Miller Tabak.

Ticketmaster shareholders will receive 1.384 shares of Live Nation common stock for each share of Ticketmaster, the two companies said in a joint statement. Live Nation will own 49.99 percent of the combined company, while Ticketmaster will hold the remaining 50.01 percent.