Losses accelerated Friday for Ticketmaster owner Live Nation Entertainment Inc. stock after The New York Times reported that the Justice Department has opened an antitrust investigation into the company. The stock fell nearly 5% in late trading, set to end the week down 11%. According to the report, which cites two people familiar with the matter, the investigation predates this week’s debacle surrounding the presale of tickets for a Taylor Swift tour. The investigation focuses on whether Ticketmaster “has abused its power over the multibillion-dollar live music industry,” the newspaper said. Ticketmaster on Thursday canceled general-public sales for the concerts, set for Friday, saying it had “insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand.” The presale of Swift’s Eras tour quickly overwhelmed Ticketmaster system on Tuesday with countless fans reporting problems logging in and facing hours-long waits to buy their tickets. The DOJ approved the $2.5 billion merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster in January 2010. Live Nation has lost 43% so far this year, compared with losses of around 17% for the S&P 500 index.
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