Legends has agreed to a $3.5m penalty as part of a legal settlement over alleged “gun jumping” breaches of antitrust rules relating to its $2.3bn acquisition of ASM Global.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the proposed settlement with Legends for the alleged violations as it filed a civil lawsuit in New York.
According to the DOJ complaint, Legends engaged in illegal premerger coordination in connection with its proposed acquisition of ASM, which was announced in November 2023. Among three breaches, Legends allegedly exercised operational control over aspects of ASM during the mandated waiting period involving venue management services for an arena in California. The DOJ said that the parties also conspired to avoid submitting competing bids for the same management contract for a venue in North Carolina, and exchanged competitively sensitive information to construct the joint bids.
Under the terms of the proposed settlement, among other things, Legends must pay a $3.5m civil penalty, appoint an antitrust compliance officer and submit regular compliance reporting to the DOJ.
DOJ’s antitrust warning
“Companies must remain separate and independent before they close their merger. Our complaint alleges that Legends did not live up to that obligation,” said Andrew Forman, deputy assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division.
“The proposed settlement requires Legends to pay a meaningful civil penalty and imposes significant obligations to try to ensure that Legends complies with the law moving forward. I commend our tremendous investigative teams who remain vigilant in trying to ensure that there is no improper coordination between parties before closing.”
Legends has now received clearance from the DOJ to close its acquisition of ASM Global. The DOJ lawsuit contains allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
A spokesperson for Legends said: “We are pleased this matter is resolved. Moving forward, we are focused on continuing to serve our clients, and we look forward to closing our deal with ASM Global this month.”
The civil antitrust lawsuit against Legends for a Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act violation was filed in the Southern District of New York. The HSR Act prohibits companies from improperly combining operations or other aspects of their businesses before expiration of the required HSR Act waiting period.
Legends offers planning, sales, partnerships, hospitality, merchandise and technology solutions. The company is currently leading planning, project management, hospitality, sales and partnerships for the new $1.4bn Buffalo Bills stadium. ASM Global’s portfolio includes Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Friends Arena in Stockholm and Kai Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong.
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