Consolidation increased in the world of web-based ticketing yesterday with Tickets.com Inc buying two rival internet ticketing firms, TicketsLive Corp and TicketStop Inc on undisclosed terms. All three firms are privately held. Tickets.com is in the process of being acquired by another ticketer, Advantix Inc, although the Tickets.com name will be retained. TicketsLive is a ticket transaction technology firm, while TicketStop is the supplier of TicketMaker, a Windows-based ticketing software for installation at venues.
Tickets.com’s main rival is the Ticketmaster.com division of USA Networks Inc’s Ticketmaster, which has exclusive ticketing arrangements with many venues on the US that leads to near- monopoly situations in some cities, including New York. Tickets.com, which also owns the 1-800-TICKETS toll-free number, says the combination of the three companies will serve some 3,700 venues and organizations.
Separately, Tickets.com has raised an additional $30m in private financing in connection with the pending coming-together with Advantix, which should happen next month. The new investors this time are Jackson International LLC and IMG/Chase Sports Capital Partners and they are joined by returnees General Atlantic Partners LLC, Attractor, ideaLab! Capital Partners, More Capital Management Inc and Bayview Investors Ltd. Jackson International is Michael Jackson’s – yes, that one – investment vehicle for entertainment-related companies, while IMG is a sports management and marketing company. รก
