British competition authority CMA requires viagogo to sell StubHub's ticketing business outside of North America

 

By Emmanuel Legrand

The British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has ruled that secondary ticketing company viagogo needs to sell StubHub, another secondary ticketing platform, outside of North America. 

  The CMA concluded after a long inquiry that the merger between the two companies would "lead to a substantial reduction in competition in the secondary ticketing market in the UK" and could "lead to customers who use secondary ticketing platforms facing higher fees or poorer service in future."

  The CMA now expects StubHub's international business to be independently owned and run by a separate company, "with no input from viagogo." The CMA will "determine key conditions of the sale," such as the right of the purchaser to use the StubHub brand for the next 10 years.

Maintain competition in the UK

  "The CMA has focused on ensuring competition in this sector works best for UK consumers. After examining all the options, including unwinding the merger in full, the evidence shows that viagogo selling StubHub’s international business will resolve our competition concerns, effectively and proportionately," said Stuart McIntosh, Chair of the CMA inquiry group. "Creating a fully independent StubHub international business will maintain competition in the UK and help ensure that the users of these ticketing platforms don’t face higher prices or poorer quality of service."

  Adam Webb, coordinator of the FanFair Alliance, which opposed the merger, commented: "Tackling this hugely controversial $4bn merger was always going to be tough for regulators, and we welcome the CMA’s hard work during this investigation. Going forward, the most pertinent question will be the identity of potential buyers."

Protect the live sector

  For Webb, "practically all of StubHub's value is in the company's North American operation. Aside from the acquisition costs, anyone wishing to operate a successful uncapped ticket resale business in the UK would require two things: significant relationships with large-scale ticket touts to supply inventory, and deep enough pockets to outspend Viagogo on Google search advertising. That might be good for Google, and it might be good for ticket touts. But we need a conclusion that's good for UK consumers, and stops them being ripped off."

  Sam Shemtob, director of the Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing welcomed the CMA's decision that will "help protect the live sector across Europe from a concentration of market power from the world's largest uncapped secondary sites."