Live Nation Entertainment’s Irving Azoff and the company’s biggest shareholder, Liberty Media boss John Malone, are considering taking the concert powerhouse private just 18 months after Live Nation merged with Ticketmaster, The Post has learned.
Such a transaction would give Live Nation — which is still recovering from last year’s concert slump and the lingering effects of the merger — some breathing room to restructure as it tries to ride a rebound in the concert business.
A source close to the company said the talks involving Azoff and Malone are at an early stage and cautioned that going private is just one option under consideration.
“Yes, they’ve had discussions, but it’s more of a strategy that is being contemplated,” said the source. “Nothing is imminent.”
Funding for such a deal could come from PE shop Thomas H. Lee Partners given its close relationship with Azoff, although another firm would likely have to come on board to finance the deal. Live Nation’s market cap is about $2 billion.
A spokesman for Live Nation declined to comment.
Azoff, the chairman of Live Nation, has said he is looking at possible deals with Malone’s Liberty, which owns 20 percent of Live Nation, as the two companies deepen their ties.
Live Nation has posted a loss in each of the past six years, including 2010, when investors had hoped the combined company would be able to use its newfound clout and flexibility to cut costs and boost ticket sales.
But the concert business proved especially vulnerable to the recession. After years of rising prices, concert ticket sales fell 10 percent last year as fans rebelled against relentless hikes.
Since then, the company has changed the way it sells tickets, using “dynamic pricing” to avoid having to offer steep discounts to move unsold tickets.
“Live Nation says they’ve learned some lessons,” said Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief of Pollstar, which tracks ticket sales. “They get the fact they overpaid for acts and charged too much.”
Live Nation has assured investors that the concert business will pick up this year. Indeed, concert ticket sales were up almost 13 percent in the first quarter.
Still, shares of Live Nation, which rose 3 cents to close at $10.30 yesterday, are down 9.8 percent year to date.
Beyond the concert business, the 2010 tie-up with Ticketmaster left the combined company saddled with $1.7 billion in debt. While several sources suggested that Live Nation’s debt would make going private difficult, another source familiar with the talks said, “I don’t believe it’s a barrier. If I was betting, I would say it’s rather more likely then less likely.”