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Eventim merger appeal rejected in German court

Germany’s Higher Regional Court has upheld the decision by the competition watchdog with regards to CTS Eventim’s merger with promoter Four Artists.

Eventim revealed the buyout in March 2017, but Germany’s competition regulator, Bundeskartellamt, claims it is an abuse of its dominant market share of 50-70 per cent.

The regulator banned the ticketing firm of requiring its partners to “only sell tickets exclusively or to a considerable extent via CTS’s eventim.net ticket sales system.”

Bundeskartellamt claims that the “abusive exclusivity contracts with event organisers and advance booking offices” are impeding smaller ticketing companies in the country and “encouraging a general trend towards further monopolisation” in Germany.

The anti-exclusive contract ruling stated that Eventim partners must have the option of selling at least 20 per cent of their inventory annually via other ticket agencies, if their deal with the company is longer than two years.

Eventim appealed the ruling at the court in Düsseldorf, which has been rejected.

According to Pollstar, an Eventim representative said the company was currently examining the court’s explanation.