Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

ACQUISITIONS

 v2.3.0.11
ACQUISITIONS
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2011
ACQUISITIONS [Abstract]  
ACQUISITIONS
NOTE 3-ACQUISITIONS
 
During 2011, the Company completed its acquisitions of Serviticket, TGLP and LN Ontario Concerts LP. These acquisitions were accounted for as business combinations under the acquisition method of accounting and were not considered significant on an individual basis or in the aggregate.
 
 Ticketmaster
 
In January 2010, the Company completed the merger of Ticketmaster with and into a wholly-owned subsidiary of Live Nation pursuant to the Merger Agreement. The following unaudited pro forma information presents the consolidated results of Live Nation and Ticketmaster for the three and six months ended June 30, 2010, with adjustments to give effect to pro forma events that are directly attributable to the Merger and have a continuing impact, as well as to exclude the impact of pro forma events that are directly attributable to the Merger and are one-time in nature. The unaudited pro forma information is presented for illustrative purposes only and is not necessarily indicative of the results of operations of future periods or the results of operations that actually would have been realized had the entities been a single company during the periods presented or the results of the combined company after the Merger. The unaudited pro forma information does not give effect to the potential impact of current financial conditions, regulatory matters or any anticipated synergies, operating efficiencies or cost savings that may be associated with the Merger. The unaudited pro forma information also does not include any integration costs, dis-synergies or transaction costs that the companies may incur related to the Merger as part of combining the operations of the companies.
 
The unaudited pro forma consolidated results of operations, assuming the acquisition had occurred on January 1, 2009, are as follows:
 
   
For the Three Months
Ended June 30,
2010
   
For the Six Months
Ended June 30,
2010
 
   
(in thousands)
 
Unaudited pro forma consolidated results:
           
Revenue
  $ 1,247,777     $ 2,021,496  
Loss from continuing operations
  $ (24,534 )   $ (114,874 )
Net loss attributable to Live Nation Entertainment, Inc.
  $ (26,479 )   $ (115,432 )
 
The Company has incurred a total of $61.6 million of acquisition transaction expenses to date relating to the Merger, of which $4.0 million and $1.5 million are included in the results of operations for the three months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively, and $9.7 million and $10.5 million are included in the results of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively.
 
In connection with the Merger, the Company has incurred a total of $13.7 million of severance costs to date, of which $0.9 million, $2.8 million, ($0.2) million and $0.5 million were recorded as a component of selling, general and administrative expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2010 in its Artist Nation, Ticketing, Sponsorship and eCommerce segments, respectively, and $0.6 million is recorded as a component of corporate expenses. For the six months ended June 30, 2010, the Company recorded $1.1 million, $6.5 million, $0.1 million and $0.7 million as a component of selling, general and administrative expenses in its Artist Nation, Ticketing, Sponsorship and eCommerce segments, respectively, and $4.7 million as a component of corporate expenses. The Company did not incur additional severance costs in the first six months of 2011, and does not expect to incur additional significant severance costs in future periods directly as a result of the Merger.
 
Front Line
 
In the first quarter of 2011, the Company acquired all of the remaining equity interests of Front Line that it did not previously own in a series of transactions. As a result of these transactions, the Company is able to further simplify its operating structure and it expects to achieve future savings through reduced cash taxes, noncontrolling interest distributions and other synergies.
 
Under the terms of the stock purchase agreement, the Company purchased all restricted and unrestricted shares of common stock of Front Line held by Irving Azoff and the Azoff Trust (collectively the “Azoff Sellers”), purchased all in-the-money options for common stock of Front Line held by the Azoff Sellers and purchased all shares of common stock of Front Line held by MSG. The Company also paid an amount equal to the 2010 dividend paid by Front Line to the Azoff Sellers and MSG, pro rated for the period from January 1, 2011 through the closing date, and paid Mr. Azoff a contractually-owed tax gross-up associated with his restricted Front Line common stock and dividend. In total, under the stock purchase agreement, the Company paid $56.3 million in cash and $18.6 million in newly-issued shares of Live Nation common stock to the Azoff Sellers and $0.2 million in cash and $41.0 million in newly issued shares of Live Nation common stock to MSG. These shares were valued using the closing price of the Company's stock on the date of the transaction. Of the total shares of Live Nation stock issued, the Azoff Sellers received 1.8 million shares of common stock and MSG received 3.9 million shares of common stock.
 
As part of individual redemption agreements, the Company also purchased the remaining smaller holdings of outstanding Front Line restricted shares of common stock from other individuals for a total of $12.8 million in cash.
 
The shares purchased under all of these agreements had redemption features and, previous to these repurchases, the Azoff Sellers' and MSG's common shares and the Azoff Sellers' options were classified as redeemable noncontrolling interests and all of the remaining shares were classified as liabilities. All of these instruments were carried at their fair values and amounts paid as part of these agreements were recorded in the income statement to the extent they were in excess of the amount recorded on the balance sheet, with the exception of the unrestricted shares of common stock held by the Azoff Sellers and MSG which were accounted for as the acquisition of noncontrolling interests and any difference between the carrying value and settlement value was recorded in additional paid-in capital. Tax gross-up amounts paid were recorded in the income statement to the extent the amount paid exceeded the amount already accrued. As a result of the repurchases, the Company recorded $24.4 million in selling, general and administrative expenses in the first quarter of 2011, which is classified as stock-based compensation. Further, cash flows from financing activities reflects a $47.9 million use of cash as a result of these transactions and cash flows from operating activities reflects a $21.4 million use of cash. Total non-cash consideration was $59.6 million and is not included in the statement of cash flows.