Efforts Ari Emanuel Left Live Nation Council After Antitrust Concerns, US Says

The U.S. Department of Justice said on Monday that Ari chief executive Emanuel Endeavor and entertainment group chairman Mark Shapiro have resigned from the management of Live Nation after concerns over the two companies ’overlap emerged.

The Department of Justice, which has stepped up its antitrust study under the Biden administration, he said on Monday Endeavor and Live Nation competed closely in the sports and entertainment markets. Both companies sell tickets and were not classified in certain anti-competitive ports.

“These resignations will allow Endeavor and Live Nation to compete independently,” Richard Powers said against the Attorney General of the Department of Justice.

“Managers cannot hold management positions in competing companies. The division will enforce antitrust laws to ensure that all companies compete on merit. ”

June 3, Live Nation he said Emanuel was resigning from his council, but did not put pressure on the justice department. Earlier this month Shapiro was re-elected to the board and was still listed as a member of Live Nation’s website from Monday.

Live Nation, the promoter of the events that owns the Ticketmaster platform, declined to comment. Endeavor said: “Although there has been no violation of the law, we understand and respect the DOJ’s concerns about the current similarities in our businesses.”

Try it was made public in April. Emanuel founded the company in 1995 as a talent agency and acquired rival William Morris Agency. But it has become a full-fledged entertainment and sports company, buying a final wrestling tournament and a Miss Universe beauty pageant, along with other businesses.

Live Nation, which fought during the pandemic, settle down with the Department of Justice in 2019 on antitrust issues. DoJ Live Nation was researching how it tried to put pressure on concert halls to use Ticketmaster sites on other sales platforms.

The Biden administration has stated that it will take a tougher approach to anti-monopoly enforcement.

Biden covered 32-year-old Lina Khan, a critic of large technology companies, To chair the Federal Trade Commission. Tim Wu, a prominent critic of Big Tech groups, batu In the White House in March as a competition policy adviser, the move told Silicon Valley that Biden hoped to tame America’s most valuable companies.