The UK competition watchdog said the proposed takeover of Ireland-based MCD Productions by the joint venture owned by US-based Live Nation raises competition concerns in the music promotion industry in Northern Ireland.
"There are only a few rival music promoters in the region and they mainly rely on Ticketmaster to sell tickets to their events," the Competition and Markets Authority said in a statement.
Ticketmaster is owned by Live Nation and the competition watchdog is concerned that the US company may be able to stop rival promoters from selling tickets through the platform if the merger goes ahead.
The joint venture, London-based LN-Gaiety Holdings Limited, is between live events promoter Live Nation Entertainment and Gaiety Investments.
