Live Nation yesterday announced it had taken complete control of Front Line Management, and that its founder, Irving Azoff, would become chairman of the wider company’s board of directors.
Ticketmaster bought a controlling stake in Azoff’s management organisation back in 2008, before it then merged with Live Nation in 2010. Azoff, who retained a minority stake in Front Line, took a senior executive role at Ticketmaster as part of the 2008 deal, and then became Executive Chairman of Live Nation after the 2010 merger.
Yesterday Live Nation announced it had bought Azoff’s remaining shares in Front Line, plus stock owned by another minority shareholder, the Madison Square Garden company, in a $116.2 million deal which saw the live music conglom hand over both cash and stock.
As part of the deal Azoff becomes chairman of the Live Nation board. Although he has had the job title of Executive Chairman since the Live Master merger, to distinguish himself from the merged group’s other top man Michael Rapino, who has the title CEO, Azoff did not actually chair the board of directors of the company.
As previously reported, originally Barry Diller, one of Ticketmaster’s main shareholders, fulfilled that role post-merger, although he stood down last year and quit the board completely last month. Then John Malone, the boss of Liberty Media, another big Live Nation shareholder, and sometime rival of Diller, took to the chair on an interim basis. Azoff will now take over from Malone.
At the same time Liberty increased its shareholding in Live Nation, and their CEO, Greg Maffei, joined the group’s board.
Confirming all these changes, the aforementioned Rapino told reporters: “Through this transaction we will further simplify and consolidate our operating structure. By acquiring full ownership of Front Line, we expect to benefit from substantial savings related to cash taxes, the elimination of the dividend and operating synergies resulting in an increase in our free cash flow in excess of $20 million annually. Front Line is a tremendous asset and a key component of our live entertainment and marketing platform. We look forward to Irving’s ongoing contributions as we continue to focus on increasing the growth potential of our combined operations”.
Sections: Music Business - Top Stories | Tags: Front Line Management, Irving Azoff, Live Nation, Ticketmaster
Also from CMU...
Liberty Media boss becomes Live Nation chair
John Malone, the boss of American conglom Liberty Media Corp, will take on the job of Chairman of Live Nation Entertainment on a temporary basis while a permanent replacement is...
Azoff responds to tension at top rumours following Diller’s resignation announcement
Live Nation’s Executive Chairman Irving Azoff has taken to Twitter to respond to the news that the live music conglom’s Chairman Barry Diller is stepping down. There has been speculation...
Live Nation chairman to step down
Barry Diller will stand down as Chairman of Live Nation Entertainment, according to Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter. Given recent rumours of run-ins between Diller and Live Nation’s top two...
GET CMU MUSIC NEWS IN YOUR INBOX EVERY DAY: Click here to sign up to the CMU Daily
