CTS Eventim Claims LNE In Breach Of Contract

LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Live Nation is facing charges of breach of contract from their erstwhile ticketing partner CTS Eventim after the German company filed a request for arbitration against Live Nation with the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce.

Live Nation originally entered into a 10-year pact with CTS Eventim to create and operate a ticketing platform to compete with Live Nation's then-rival Ticketmaster, but the subsequent merger between LN and Ticketmaster effectively left CTS out in the cold. Since the merger was announced, Live Nation had reiterated that it intended to live up to the terms of their contractual obligations but CTS apparently, feels that such has not been the case.

As revealed in an April 19th SEC filing from Live Nation, CTS Eventim is claiming contractual breaches in a number of areas, including the ticket fees that they claim their deal with Live Nation entitles them to. According to CTS, their contract with LN entitles them to a per-ticket fee for every ticket Live Nation sells, even those sold through their subsidiary Ticketmaster Entertainment's ticketing platform. CTS also alleges that Live Nation has failed to allocate the contractually required number of tickets to be sold through CTS's branded ticketing system in the UK.

In its request for arbitration, CTS seeks relief in the form of a declaration that Live Nation and Live Nation Worldwide are in breach of their agreement with CTS. CTS Eventim is also seeking unspecified damages resulting from such breaches as well as specific performance of Live Nation Worldwide's obligations under their contractual agreement.

Live Nation counters that CTS is also in breach of contract for failing to deliver a ticketing platform that meets the minimum standards imposed by the terms of the CTS agreement, however they have yet to file a request for arbitration on this claim.

While Live Nation's filing said "CTS's claims are without merit and inconsistent with the terms of the CTS agreement," they warned investors that an arbitration decision in CTS Eventim' favor might prevent Live Nation from realizing "the full operational efficiencies that the combined company might otherwise obtain through the merger."

The disclosure was included in the 'risk factors' portion of a Form 8k filed with the SEC, detailing Live Nation's plans to enter into a senior secured credit facility consisting of two term loans totaling $900 million and a $300 million revolving credit facility. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers