StubHub’s parent company eBay yesterday (Thursday) completed the sale of the secondary ticketing provider to Viagogo for $4.05bn in cash.
The announcement comes just two days after the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ordered a halt to any integration between Viagogo and StubHub until it completes its investigation into the merger.
The UK watchdog served an initial enforcement order (IEO) to the two resale companies last week due to suspicions that they had already began to merge.
The CMA launched a phase 1 investigation into deal in December and is looking into whether the deal will result in a “substantial lessening of competition within the market,” by looking at the provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002.
TheTicketingBusiness understands that the IEO in place does not prevent the companies from completing their transaction but is instead intended to ensure they remain distinct while the investigation remains ongoing.
The completion of the transaction has resulted in net proceeds of $3.1bn for eBay.
“The completed sale of StubHub to Viagogo is a great outcome both in terms of the $4.05 billion sale price and the potential StubHub has with its new owner,” said Scott Schenkel, interim chief executive of eBay.
“The StubHub transaction reinforces our commitment to creating shareholder value and is consistent with other steps we have taken such as margin improvement, share buybacks and issuing dividends.
“We are operating with discipline and focus, improving financial performance and delivering improved customer experiences. On behalf of the eBay team, we’re excited to see how StubHub evolves in its next phase and benefits fans, partners and employees.”
In other news, StubHub has been fined C$1.3m ($1m/£753,000/€904,000) by the Canadian Competition Bureau for “misleading” pricing and additional fees on event tickets.
The regulatory body’s probe found that the entity had listed “unattainable” prices across all its platforms.
Competition commissioner Matthew Boswell said in a statement: “Prices advertised online for event tickets should reflect the true cost of buying those tickets. The Bureau is committed to challenging false or misleading pricing claims in the digital economy, and reminds all vendors to review their marketing practices.”
The $1.3m fine was imposed as a result of an agreement reached between StubHub and the watchdog to resolve the issue.
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