DUSSELDORF, Germany (CelebrityAccess) — A Dusseldorf court has upheld a ruling by German anti-trust regulators that blocked CTS Eventim’s planned acquisition of Four Artists, a Berlin-based promoter and booking agency responsible for annually producing thousands of shows in the region.
CTS Eventim announced last March that they planned to acquire Four Artists, but the deal was unexpectedly blocked in November after the competition regulators Bundeskartellamt ruled that Eventim held a dominant position in the German ticketing market and that the proposed merger would substantially reduce competition in the sector.
“Concert and tour organizers, as well as advance booking offices, are dependent on [CTS Eventim]. The company also has a very powerful market position in the sale of tickets via its own online shop and has already integrated several event organizers into its company’s structure in the past. By acquiring Four Artists, CTS Eventim would gain control of additional relevant ticket quotas and expand its market position further,” regulators said last November.
Among the artists represented by Four Artists, for whom the company organizes and markets concerts, are approx. 300 national and international artists, including Die Fantastischen Vier, Clueso, Marteria, David Guetta, Rea Garvey, and Andreas Bourani.
According to MusikWoche, a spokesperson for CTS Eventim said that the company plans to consider the court’s ruling before deciding to appeal.
