TheTicketingBusiness has learned that there are no immediate plans to combine Viagogo and StubHub into a single brand following the completion of the mega-merger, which was announced on Monday.
Viagogo has agreed to pay ecommerce giant eBay $4.05bn for its secondary ticketing division after months of speculation regarding its future. Neither Viagogo nor eBay publicly addressed the future of the individual brands when the deal was unveiled.
“The two companies are likely to operate independently for some time while the entities identify the best way to integrate their businesses,” a spokesperson for Viagogo told TheTicketingBusiness.
The deal still has some way to go before it can be completed due to regulatory approvals, and competition watchdogs will scrutinise closely the creation of a giant in the ticketing sector.
However, the Viagogo spokesperson said that the operator is confident the approvals process will progress smoothly.
“Viagogo will work with the regulators to ensure a swift completion of the transaction and does not anticipate any major concerns given the size of the overall ticketing industry and scores of competitors,” the source said.
“The two businesses both are part of the highly competitive broader ticketing industry, with the leading players in most countries still being various large ticketing marketplaces. There are many competitors to the combined business in the marketplace, particularly much larger ticketers such as Ticketmaster, AXS and See Tickets, as well as CTS Eventim, TicketTek, Vibe Tickets, Twickets and Vivid Seats, to name a few.
“In addition, informal exchanges like Facebook also provide competition to both Viagogo and StubHub.”
Victim of Viagogo founder Claire Turnham said on Tuesday that the combination of the two resale giants will lead to “more exploitation, rip offs and misery” for consumers.
However, the Viagogo spokesperson added that the deal is good news for fans who will be able to access a greater pool of tickets.
“StubHub has a great brand, broad inventory selection, a loyal fan base and 130-plus deep industry partnerships,” the source said.
“Sports, music and theatre fans will stand to benefit from StubHub joining Viagogo as they’ll have more options to seamlessly access a wider selection of ticket inventory around the world. Additionally, sellers will have the ability to efficiently reach a broader global audience through the combined company.
“Efficiencies will free up capital to invest in innovations that improve the customer experience for fans.”
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