The UK’s business regulator, the Competition & Markets Authority has today made a final ruling on the $4bn merger between Viagogo and StubHub – requiring that StubHub’s international business (outside of North America) is sold off in order to ally competition concerns.
The full announcement can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-requires-viagogo-to-sell-stubhub-s-international-business
As well as launching an initial complaint about the impacts of highly controversial acquisition, FanFair Alliance has submitted substantial evidence to the investigation.
See here for more details.
In reaction to today’s news, we have issued the following statement:
Adam Webb, campaign manager, FanFair Alliance
“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. 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.”