IRELAND (CelebrityAccess) The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, the governing body for consumer protection in the Republic of Ireland, has announced it is continuing its investigation into the acquisition of Irish promoter MCD Productions but the U.K.’s LN-Gaiety Holdings.
The latter, a joint venture between Live Nation UK and Denis Desmond’s Gaiety Investments, announced in August it planned to buy Desmond’s MCD Productions, which was co-founded alongside Eamonn McCann in 1980. Desmond took over the chairmanship of Live Nation’s UK and Ireland operations in 2015. MCD Productions, now owned by Desmond and his wife, continued to be independent.
The CCPC says it is has instated “phase 2” of its mandatory investigation, a common procedure when “the CCPC is unable to conclude that the proposed transaction will not lead to a substantial lessening of competition in any market for goods or services in the republic, according to IQ magazine.
Live Nation reached a “phase 2” status in 2017 when it announced its intention to buy the Isle of Wight Festival; that acquisition was eventually approved.
