Ticketmaster Goes It Alone

According to a statement released Monday, Internet giant Ticketmaster is set to be spun from its parent company, IAC/InterActiveCorp, by late July or early August. The new stand-alone Ticketmaster will have $750 million in debt and $450 million in cash at the beginning of this new venture.

According to a statement released Monday, Internet giant Ticketmaster is set to be spun from its parent company, IAC/InterActiveCorp, by late July or early August. The new stand-alone Ticketmaster will have $750 million in debt and $450 million in cash at the beginning of this new venture.

Despite debt, officials at Ticketmaster are not worried about the company’s future. In fact, Sean Moriarty (Ticketmaster’s chief executive) sees the move as an opportunity for the company to grow internationally, while also aiding artists in the face of a fan base that “no longer listens to the radio.”
Another potential problem for Ticketmaster, who now holds an international monopoly in online ticket sales for concerts and sporting events, is the departure of partner Live Nation. Hoping to become more self-sufficient, Live Nation plans on providing their own ticket distribution system for the shows the produce. Though Live Nation is responsible for between 10 and 15 percent of Ticketmaster’s income, Moriarty remains optimistic that the next year will still bring profit.

Ticketmaster plans to double their international operations within the next five years, focusing especially on China as a new market for expansion. As for all of that debt, IAC spokeswoman Leslie Cafferty told an interviewer that the company has not “disclosed how [they] plan to invest that or allocate it within IAC.”