Sale of AEG

wishingstar · September 2012

Well this is interesting........ the article mentions Blackstone Advisory Partners as well.....they sound very familiar. Were they involved with Neverland somehow? />their Hedge Fund Solutions biz....is BAAM........ :icon_lol: /> AEG, owner of LA's Kings, Staples arena, for sale By ANDREW DALTON | Associated Press – 41 mins ago LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anschutz Entertainment Group, the owner of the Staples Center arena and the NHL's Los Angeles Kings, and the top contender to build a stadium and bring the NFL back to Los Angeles, is up for sale, its parent company said Tuesday. The Denver-based Anschutz Co. said in a statement that it is "commencing a process" to sell the subsidiary known as AEG and had hired Blackstone Advisory Partners as an adviser. It wasn't immediately clear how far along the company is in the sale process, or whether it has entertained any offers, but the price for AEG could be well into the billions. The sale would mean a major ground shift in sports and entertainment in Los Angeles and around the world. AEG's holdings also include pro soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy, part-ownership of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers, and major entertainment and real estate holdings in downtown Los Angeles. Outside of L.A., AEG owns Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo and New York's Barclay's Center, the new home of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets. It also owns arenas in Sweden, China and Australia. The sale would also throw uncertainty into LA's nearly two-decade attempt to bring the NFL back to the city. The City Council is considering the approval of plans for Farmers Field, a downtown stadium proposed by AEG. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said he has long known of the possibility of a sale, and both Denver billionaire Phillip Anschutz and AEG President Tim Leiweke have assured him the city's NFL hopes will remain the same. "I have worked with both Phil Anschutz and Tim Leiweke for years to bring a football team to Los Angeles. I speak to both of them on a regular basis and I have known about this potential sale for some time," the mayor said in a statement Tuesday night. "I have the commitment from both of them that this won't affect plans for an NFL team to return to Los Angeles in the near future and so will not affect my support for moving ahead with Farmers Field." Councilwoman Jan Perry, whose district includes the proposed stadium site, said she did not know about a pending sale but agreed that it wouldn't have adverse effects on courting an NFL team. "The city has done a good job of protecting the taxpayer's interest in negotiating an agreement," Perry told The Associated Press, "so whoever steps into the shoes of Mr. Anschutz will have the same obligations." Perry said the move "arguably is very positive" because she suspected it could lead to an enthusiastic new partner anxious to get in on the city's NFL prospects. The potential sale was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. AEG transformed the Los Angeles landscape with the building of Staples Center and the later addition of the LA Live entertainment complex, helping to revitalize the city's long-neglected downtown and bring new energy and several championships to its sports teams. Opening in 1999, the Staples Center is among the world's busiest arenas. It hosted six playoff games in four days for its main tenants — the NBA's Lakers and Clippers, and the NHL's Kings, who won their first Stanley Cup in June.

wishingstar · September 2012

Just found this article as well: /> Anschutz seeks to sell concert promoter AEG (Reuters) - U.S. conglomerate Anschutz Co said on Tuesday it wants to sell its live sports and entertainment company Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), whose assets ranges from teams like the Los Angeles Lakers to concert venues such as London's famous O2 arena. Anschutz Co, which is owned by Denver billionaire Phillip Anschutz, said it has retained Blackstone Advisory Partners as financial advisor to assist in the sale process. A sale of AEG could fetch several billion dollars, although Anschutz could sell all or part of the assets, a source said. Anschutz CEO Tim Leiweke had been approached before about selling the company, whose other assets include the Los Angeles Kings hockey team and the L.A. Galaxy soccer team, according to a different person who has been briefed on the company's status but is not part of the deal. The person added that potential buyers could include John Malone's Liberty Media Corp and News Corp, which is splitting its publishing and entertainment assets later this year. Neither company has made a formal bid, however. News Corp declined to comment while representatives from Liberty Media were not immediately available for comment. A sale to Malone's Liberty Media would have regulatory hurdles. Liberty owns a 21 percent stake in Live Nation Entertainment, which is the nation's biggest show promoter while AEG's concert division, AEG Live is the second-largest. This is not the first time that Anschutz has explored a sale of some or all of AEG. In 2008, IAC's Ticketmaster and Cablevision Systems Corp came close to acquiring 49 percent of the AEG Live concert division for roughly $400 million. But those talks eventually broke down and Ticketmaster went on to merge with Live Nation. AEG Live was also the promoter behind the "This Is It" comeback tour that Michael Jackson was about to embark on before he died. It is still embroiled in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Katherine Jackson, the singer's mother, in which she accuses the company of being responsible for medical decisions made by Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray, that caused his death. AEG Live last week dropped a separate lawsuit it filed seeking a $17.5 million insurance claim payment from Lloyd's of London to reimburse upfront costs they incurred to stage the "This Is It" tour. (Additional reporting by Paritosh Bansal in New York and Sue Zeidler in Los Angeles; Editing by Mary Milliken and Edwina Gibbs)

Adi · September 2012

Just a random thought....but it would be cool if the Michael Jackson Estate bought it.

Andrea · September 2012

LOL Adi, I was just thinking the same thing and then I read your comment.

leilani81 · September 2012

hmmm interesting........ it would be not surprising to learn that michael's estate indeed had interests in it.. I keep thinking back to paris twitter about the take over.. wouldn't it be cool if he slowly took over the entertainment ndustry? :P or at least a substantial control over it

suspicious mind · September 2012

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 hmmm interesting........ it would be not surprising to learn that michael's estate indeed had interests in it.. [size=14pt]I keep thinking back to paris twitter about the take over.. wouldn't it be cool if he slowly took over the entertainment ndustry? :P or at least a substantial control over it

[/size] from the very beginning i have entertained the thought that perhaps he already has :icon_e_wink: [move] :moonwalk_:[/move]

everlastinglove_MJ · September 2012

Thank you for this interesting news Wishingstar. I found another one: /> These above mentioned thoughts are indeed interesting in hoax perspective :icon_cool:... though... I can't get rid of suspicious thoughts about why would AEG be for sale at this very moment :suspect: i.e. around the same time of the insurance case and the lawsuits with the Estate :icon_e_confused: ...hmm, I think I will keep WATCHing

wishingstar · September 2012

@everlastinglove_MJ.... Interesting article.......the first time I clicked through on the link, it went to a sort of pre-page....then loaded about 5 seconds. On that pre-page was this quote: Forbes Thought Of The Day “ I believe that man will not merely endure, he will prevail. He is immortal not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul. ” — William Faulkner Interesting in a hoaxy sort of way...... In the article it states how AEG began selling tickets through its own platform...not Ticketmaster apparently. It's the last paragraph: They’ve also been building more layers of synergy into the AEG empire. For a generation, if fans wanted to go to the Jon Bon Jovi concert they would have to buy their tickets through Ticketmaster and pay a bevy of fees added on top of the ticket price. After arch-rival Live Nation bought Ticketmaster in 2010, AEG moved to build its own ticketing service. By selling tickets to AEG events exclusively through its own platform, AEG has taken millions of ticket transactions a year away from Ticketmaster. I found this article from Feb 2009 that talks about the merger: /> So perhaps the deal closed in 2010, but was well in the works way earlier. I am interested in this only because I feel like the tickets to TII concerts were not what they seemed. The public may have been sold fake tickets.....or were there no real tickets to begin with? All the media, all the press, all the press conference, all the tickets....all a part of this gigantic hoax. I have no clue.......... Thanks for this other article...interesting stuff for sure! Have a beautiful day! Blessings Always

MaryK · September 2012

Wishingstar:

Interesting article.......the first time I clicked through on the link, it went to a sort of pre-page....then loaded about 5 seconds. On that pre-page was this quote: Forbes Thought Of The Day “ I believe that man will not merely endure, he will prevail. He is immortal not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul. ” — William Faulkner

Off topic: :icon_e_confused: That´s one of the quotes that V V posted on Hoaxbook... :icon_e_confused:

wishingstar · September 2012

on 1348075185:

 Wishingstar: 

Interesting article.......the first time I clicked through on the link, it went to a sort of pre-page....then loaded about 5 seconds. On that pre-page was this quote: Forbes Thought Of The Day “ I believe that man will not merely endure, he will prevail. He is immortal not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul. ” — William Faulkner

 Off topic: :icon_e_confused: That´s one of the quotes that V V posted on Hoaxbook... :icon_e_confused:

:icon_eek: x 777 I just went back to the link, hit it and it didn't come up....it's the link everlastinglove_MJ posted: /> Why wouldn't it come up again? Did anyone else see this...please tell me I am not crackers. All I did was click the link in the post, it went to some page that was sort of pre-page look for Forbes.....it said I'd be redirected to what I was looking for in about 5 seconds.....I saw that quote, quickly copied it because it seemed interesting, and pasted it here...now it's nowhere? What's up? Where/when on hoaxbook was it posted? I don't remember it off-hand. Blessings PS> this quote of his is from a speech he gave in 1950:

blankie · September 2012

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 Just a random thought....but it would be cool if the Michael Jackson Estate bought it.

I think is possible !! :icon_e_wink: :michael-jackson:

voiceforthesilent · September 2012

Thank you for sharing this news with us. It's really interesting more so because of the timing. My first thought/hope too was that somehow MJ would be involved in the buyout. I remember reading a long time ago that he did have a small stake in an online ticket selling company a few years ago. Can't remember the name of the company but it wasn't Ticketmaster or AEG. I too am going to keep watchin' for the first signs of the Estate being mentioned in this deal. Can I ask - who is V V ? I guess I don't get on hoaxbook enough. Blessings

MaryK · September 2012

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on 1348075185:

 Wishingstar: 

Interesting article.......the first time I clicked through on the link, it went to a sort of pre-page....then loaded about 5 seconds. On that pre-page was this quote: Forbes Thought Of The Day “ I believe that man will not merely endure, he will prevail. He is immortal not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul. ” — William Faulkner

 Off topic: :icon_e_confused: That´s one of the quotes that V V posted on Hoaxbook... :icon_e_confused: 

 :icon_eek: x 777 I just went back to the link, hit it and it didn't come up....it's the link everlastinglove_MJ posted: http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2012/09/19/anschutz-to-glean-billions-in-sale-of-entertainment-group/ Why wouldn't it come up again? Did anyone else see this...please tell me I am not crackers. All I did was click the link in the post, it went to some page that was sort of pre-page look for Forbes.....it said I'd be redirected to what I was looking for in about 5 seconds.....I saw that quote, quickly copied it because it seemed interesting, and pasted it here...now it's nowhere? What's up? Where/when on hoaxbook was it posted? I don't remember it off-hand. Blessings PS> this quote of his is from a speech he gave in 1950: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1949/faulkner-speech.html

Whishy I saw it too. It´s gone now.... :icon_eek: V V posted that quote two or three days before he/she/it was banned, so basically a few days before Souza´s thread about trolls. @Voice: V V was the reason for Souzas thread about trolls and security issues.

everlastinglove_MJ · September 2012

on 1348079391:

 

on 1348075185:

 Wishingstar: 

Interesting article.......the first time I clicked through on the link, it went to a sort of pre-page....then loaded about 5 seconds. On that pre-page was this quote: Forbes Thought Of The Day “ I believe that man will not merely endure, he will prevail. He is immortal not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul. ” — William Faulkner

 Off topic: :icon_e_confused: That´s one of the quotes that V V posted on Hoaxbook... :icon_e_confused: 

 :icon_eek: x 777 I just went back to the link, hit it and it didn't come up....it's the link everlastinglove_MJ posted: http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2012/09/19/anschutz-to-glean-billions-in-sale-of-entertainment-group/ Why wouldn't it come up again? Did anyone else see this...please tell me I am not crackers. All I did was click the link in the post, it went to some page that was sort of pre-page look for Forbes.....it said I'd be redirected to what I was looking for in about 5 seconds.....I saw that quote, quickly copied it because it seemed interesting, and pasted it here...now it's nowhere? What's up? Where/when on hoaxbook was it posted? I don't remember it off-hand. Blessings PS> this quote of his is from a speech he gave in 1950: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1949/faulkner-speech.html

Then I am crackers too! :icon_lol: :beerchug: I remember the pop-up too, but apparently I didn't pay too much attention to the quote and skipped the pop-up because I was too focused on reading the article. When I click on my posted link now, there's no pop-up :icon_e_confused: I do remember that V V posted this quote :icon_eek: Interesting indeed. Thanks for the info about Faulkner's quote, Wish. LOVE

hesouttamylife · September 2012

I just clicked on the link and it came up. Forbes Thought Of The Day “ I believe that man will not merely endure, he will prevail. He is immortal not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul. ” Maybe it only comes up once on the first visit to the site from a new ip address. After that, you’re recognized & it doesn’t come up again.

wishingstar · September 2012

OK..it just gets more weird...... in that article from Forbes is another article heading/link...wanna guess what the title is? The Man Behind the Curtain It's about half way down on the left....... /> Does Michael have anything to do with Forbes? I think we are all crackers everlastinglove.....LOL! Glad you liked the info on the quote....interesting to learn all these things : ) Cheers...here's to being crazy together!!!! :beerchug: LOVE @hesouttamylife.......I thought maybe that might be the case....good catch. It's still an interesting quote for sure......

paula-c · September 2012

They are talking about this link? /> Forbes Thought Of The Day “ I believe that man will not merely endure, he will prevail. He is immortal not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul. ” — William Faulkner

wishingstar · September 2012

@paula-c<;br /> :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: Thank you!!!! Yes......

ellyd · September 2012

Forbes obviously use the "Forbes Thought Randomizer" combined with an IP registration. More to read:

wishingstar · September 2012

Back on Sept. 9, 2012, Forbes has this article about AEG: /> It's not a very flattering article and probably drew some lines in the sand as far as who believes what. I keep remembering all those post June 25th interviews with Kenny and Randy P. about how great Michael was doing and how ready he was for everything. They need a freaking Oscar award for their performances....... if Michael was ill. I do not believe he was. What a tangled web that's been woven... Blessings!

MaryK · September 2012

September 19, 2012, 5:34 PM [size=14pt]Colony Capital, Guggenheim Partners Potential AEG Bidders[/size] By Ethan Smith and Anupreeta Das A day after Anschutz Entertainment Group said it was for sale, some potential bidders raised their hands—publicly or privately—even as AEG’s representatives said the company’s bankers hadn’t yet sent out financial documents or non-disclosure agreements to interested parties. Among the parties considering making bids, according to people familiar with the matter, are real-estate group Colony Capital LLC and investment firm Guggenheim Partners LLC. A representative of Patrick Soon-Shiong, a biotech billionaire who bid for the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this year but eventually pulled out, told the Los Angeles Times that Dr. Soon-Shiong was “interested” in making a bid. A spokeswoman for his company, NantWorks LLC, didn’t respond to a request for comment. With the sale process still in early stages, it was difficult to know how far apart AEG parent Anschutz Co. could be from potential bidders. Anschutz is seeking bids starting at around $7 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, while one potential bidder was likely to offer $3 billion to $5 billion, according to another person familiar with the matter. Closely held Anschutz, controlled by 72-year-old Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz, could cancel the sale if it doesn’t get an acceptable price. Colony, a real-estate investment firm based in the Los Angeles area, could seek to form a partnership for its bid, according to a person familiar with the matter. Colony’s previous entertainment acquisitions include independent film studio Miramax, which a group led by Colony bought from Walt Disney Co DIS -0.04%. in 2010 for around $660 million. AEG’s size, scope and value dwarf those of Miramax. Guggenheim, the investment firm, is part of a group that recently bought Dick Clark Productions. Its chief executive, Mark Walter, is part of the group that recently bought the Dodgers. AEG owns dozens of sports and entertainment venues, including the O2 arena in London and Staples Center in Los Angeles. It also has a 30% share of the L.A. Lakers NBA franchise and controls the NHL’s L.A. King’s and professional soccer’s L.A. Galaxy. The company’s concert-promotion arm, AEG Live, runs the hugely successful Coachella music festival and was preparing to stage Michael Jackson’s comeback tour when the pop star died in 2009. ____________________________________________________________ Oh yeah.... :icon_e_wink: Colony Capital :ghsdf: :icon_albino:

ellyd · September 2012

[size=12pt]Vincent Bonsignore: Anschutz exit isn't end of hopes for Farmers Field or NFL in Los Angeles[/size] By Vincent Bonsignore Staff Columnist Posted: 09/19/2012 06:55:07 PM PDT Surprised that Phil Anschutz is selling his AEG sports and entertainment empire? I'm not. And if you are a fan of AEG's Farmers Field project and the potential of the NFL returning to downtown Los Angeles, Anschutz's announcement Tuesday is actually good news. But more on that later. Not long ago I got a text from a high-ranking official in the National Football League saying he heard Anschutz was running out of patience with the process of bringing an NFL team here to play at Farmers Field. Essentially, the text explained, Anschutz might want out. "Will keep my ear to the ground and let you know if I hear anything," the text concluded. Nothing ever came of it, and after making the necessary calls I was assured that Anschutz was still all in and that AEG's Tim Leiweke, who is spearheading the Farmers Field project, was excited about soon gaining full clearance to begin construction and initiating the process of bringing a team to Los Angeles. In fact, the NFL official subsequently texted again to say, based on conversations with other league figures, the belief is football will be back in Los Angeles relatively soon. Then came word Tuesday that Anschutz is selling AEG, which includes Staples Center, the NHL champion Kings, pro soccer's Galaxy, part ownership of the Lakers, and major entertainment and real estate holdings in downtown Los Angeles. And of course, the privately funded $1.3 billion Farmers Field project. Just like that, it seemed the NFL returning to downtown L.A. was doomed. The reality is, this is a good thing for Farmers Field. Better to find out now, rather than later, Anschutz wasn't fully prepared to emotionally and financially march down the aisle with the NFL. Better he hand AEG over to someone more local, more energetic and passionate about adding onto the downtown L.A. sports and entertainment kingdom he helped create more than a decade ago - someone like Patrick Soon-Shiong, the richest man in Los Angeles and a rabid sports fan already being mentioned as a potential buyer. This is all about timing. It's well-established Farmers Field is primarily a Leiweke dream, with the reclusive, Denver-based Anschutz promising his financial support but always a bit skeptical. It's also no secret the 73-year-old Anschutz isn't keen on making a long-term commitment to owning all or part of the team moving to Los Angeles, a key and necessary aspect relative to the NFL. Anschutz is a real estate guy, buying and developing land to eventually sell. The NFL is all about ownership consistency and stability. The relationship could have worked, but you get the idea Anschutz might have felt landlocked. To the surprise of many, Leiweke has marched Farmers Field nearly the length of the field. And with the project nearly ready to begin construction and the eager NFL ready for Anschutz to take the financial plunge, Anschutz started feeling like an anxious groom on wedding day, not sure he was OK with the commitment he was about to make. So he thought long and hard and decided the time was right to hand off things to someone else. And in the process, do right by Los Angeles. How so? By selling AEG to a locally based owner whose passion for Los Angeles sports supersedes his own. Someone fully committed to seeing Farmers Field through while also being supportive of a long-term relationship with the NFL, an assurance the league needs before returning. And finally, by stepping aside now, mere months before the NFL meets to potentially discuss a team moving here, a new AEG owner should be in place, fully vetted by the NFL and ready to hammer out a deal to bring football back to L.A. "Someone the NFL is comfortable with, someone with the wherewithal to make this work and make this successful," Leiweke said. "This gives the NFL assurance, and that is critically important." So while Anschutz stunned everyone with Tuesday's announcement and seemingly pulled the plug on Farmers Field, it's really just a logical next step in the process. Especially when you consider how convinced the high-ranking NFL official is about pro football returning to Los Angeles, and the excitement in Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' voice when he told me two weeks ago he was more optimistic than ever L.A. would soon have an NFL team. Not to mention NFL commissioner Roger Goodell touting Farmers Field last week for the unique game-day experience it will provide while dismissing the notion it won't satisfy the tailgating hopes of L.A. football fans. Goodell rarely speaks publicly about either of the two local stadium proposals - Farmers Field and Ed Roski Jr.'s City of Industry project - yet there he was practically gushing over the downtown stadium when he had to have an inkling Anschutz was getting antsy and contemplating a sale. Why did Goodell seem so supportive of Farmers Field if he knew the money man was selling? Because Goodell probably has a good idea who the new AEG head will be, and is comfortable that, with AEG's current Leiweke-led management team still in place, the process will move along accordingly once the sale is complete. How fast will a deal go down? Leiweke said Wednesday he fully expects the new owner to be in place by March when the NFL convenes to talk about a team potentially moving here, if not sooner. He also said the owner will be fully on board with Farmers Field. By then, it is conceivable an existing team will have applied for relocation - Goodell recently issued a Jan. 1 to Feb. 15 deadline for clubs to express intent to move in time for the 2013 season - and that a deal will be in place in which the new owner buys part or all of the relocating team. The most likely candidate is the San Diego Chargers, who have an annual escape window from Feb. 1 to April 30 in which they can buy out their lease at Qualcomm Stadium. The Chargers are struggling at the gate and have waged a decade-long battle to build a new local stadium, to no avail. Meanwhile, the Rams face an end-of-year ruling by an arbitrator deciding how much it will cost St. Louis to bring the Edward Jones Dome up to necessary standards. If the stadium is not among the top quarter in the NFL by the end of 2014, the Rams can terminate their lease. The point is two teams are in position to possibly move here by next year. And with a new AEG owner in place and motivated to make Farmers Field happen, that makes Tuesday's announcement a good thing for Los Angeles. vincent.bonsignore@dailynews.com twitter.com/DailyNewsVinny [size=12pt]Unlikely Dynasty[/size] Monte Burke, 09.19.05 Robert Kraft has used business sense and a fan's blind faith to turn the once-laughable New England Patriots into one of the richest franchises in sports. [...] He wanted to own not only the team but also its stadium and all the surrounding land. He started by locking up purchase rights to 300 acres around the stadium in Foxboro, Mass. The Sullivan family, founding owners of the Patriots, owned the team and the stadium but not the surrounding land. In 1985 Kraft bought a ten-year option on the property, paying a group of Boston businessmen $1 million a year for first dibs to buy the land someday for $18 million. It was risky, but "the option gave me ten years to try to figure out how to get the team," he says. In 1986 the Sullivan family put the team up for sale--but held on to the stadium. Kraft passed. "It just didn't feel right, but looking back, I should have bought the team then," he says now. "It was a much more reasonable price." The late Victor Kiam, owner of Remington shavers, picked up the Pats for $87 million. "It was frustrating," Kraft says. But two years later he snagged the second piece of the puzzle--thanks to singer Michael Jackson. In 1988 Kraft and a partner put up $25 million to buy the Foxboro stadium from the Sullivan family, besting a $16 million offer from the Pats' owner, Kiam. (Kraft would buy out his 50-50 partner for a small premium five years later.) Charles Sullivan had used the stadium as collateral to fund the Jackson brothers' Victory Tour back in 1984. Overleveraged, Sullivan went bankrupt and was forced to sell the arena. To this day Kraft's collection of photos and mementos includes a poster from the ill-fated tour. By the end of 1988 Kraft had rights to the land, and with the stadium he controlled $2 million a year from parking, concessions and signage. More important, the stadium held an operating covenant that required the Patriots to stay put until 2001. "Now I had 13 years to try to figure out how to get the team." [...]

SimPattyK · September 2012

Thank you all for all these interesting articles! I just don't know what to make of all this.... :animal0017: Sounds like a GIANT coincidence! perfect tIMing and everything... and I don't believe in coincidences . . . :icon_albino: Something's UP! and it sure "smells" like part of the hoax-plan! :icon_e_biggrin: JMO!

everlastinglove_MJ · September 2012

[size=12pt]Putting a price on AEG Live's concert talent[/size] The value of the entertainment division may lie in those who run it rather than ticket sales By Randy Lewis and Alex Pham, Los Angeles Times September 19, 2012, 6:29 p.m. Billionaire Philip Anschutz's plan to sell off his AEG entertainment division raises a major question about the fate of the company's AEG Live subsidiary, the concert industry's No. 2 powerhouse. The multifaceted AEG owns, operates and exclusively books dozens of venues across the country, controls stakes in the Los Angeles Lakers and Kings sports franchises and promotes hundreds of concerts and other live entertainment events each year. Industry veterans are speculating whether AEG will remain as a single entity under new ownership or be split into several pieces and be sold off. Among AEG Live's most prized concert world components are Staples Center in Los Angeles, the O2 Arena in London and the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, of which it shares ownership with festival founder Paul Tollett. Since AEG Live was launched about a dozen years ago, it has become the closest competitor to the concert business' leader, Live Nation. Last year, AEG Live sold 12.2 million tickets to events it produced and promoted worldwide, compared with 22 million tickets for Live Nation-sponsored shows, according to Pollstar, the live entertainment industry tracking publication. Two Wall Street analysts, who declined to speak publicly, said it is difficult to put a price tag on privately held AEG Live. But others said the value of the company's concert division has less to do with ticket sales or gross revenues than with the people who run it. "You're buying their expertise and their relationships with all of the artists," Pollstar editor Gary Bongiovanni said. "If you bought Coachella and you don't have Paul Tollett, what do you really have? You bought the name but not the people who bring in the talent." He also cited Brian Murphy, the head of AEG Live's West Coast office, who has close ties with Katy Perry. John Meglen and Paul Gongaware of AEG's Concerts West division worked with Celine Dion. Louis Messina, one of the nation's biggest country music promoters who formed a partnership with AEG Live, has handled tours for Taylor Swift and Kenny Chesney. Chesney's summer stadium tour with fellow country star Tim McGraw sold more than 1 million tickets and grossed more than $96 million over 23 shows, making it the most popular and highest-grossing concert tour of the year, according to Pollstar figures. "These people have very strong relationships with talent," Bongiovanni said. "The value of the company will depend on whether these people will stay." AEG Live had about 650 employees and generated about $1 billion a year in ticket sales as of 2011, according to AEG Live president Randy Phillips, who on Wednesday declined to comment for this report. AEG President and Chief Executive Tim Leiweke also declined through a spokesman to comment beyond their statements in Tuesday's news release announcing the sale. "We run this like a business," Phillips told The Times last year. "Even though AEG Live is a strategic play to protect AEG's venues, we need to make money as a stand-alone business." AEG Live did turn a profit in 2010 and 2011, Phillips said, with last year being its most profitable year ever. He declined to state how much money the division made. Even if AEG had disclosed its performance, its businesses are too tightly intertwined to easily separate the pieces, said John Tinker, an analyst at Maxim Group. AEG Live can get a good rate for the venues it owns (take Staples, for example). Otherwise, concert promotions is a low-profit business, with margins averaging 1% to 4% of revenue, Tinker said. "If you don't control the building, you're just another guy without an angle," Tinker said. To AEG, however, the concerts business helps the company fill its stadiums and concert halls in between the sports matches of teams AEG owns or has a stake in. "It's the whole package that's interesting. The concerts business by itself is not," Tinker said. The prospective sale also raises questions about the future of AEG's individual components. "I don't think it will have any impact on day-to-day business, unless a new owner comes in and starts selling pieces off," said a veteran concert promoter who has dealt with AEG and Live Nation who asked for anonymity. "Its business is fractured: it has sports arenas across the country [and] a lot of little businesses that somewhat complement each other, but I don't know if they're enmeshed. "Coachella is a stand-alone," the promoter said. "But they've also got clubs at L.A. Live, they've got sports teams. I think someone will come in and buy the whole thing, but buy it for something they really want. Like [billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong]. He wants to be in the sports world and made a play at the Dodgers. He'd like to hang his signature on Staples and have the sports teams. But it's going to be hard for someone to step in and run the whole thing." Earlier this year, Phillips spoke of modestly optimistic expectations for the concert business in 2012, projecting perhaps a 3% increase over 2011. He noted that AEG Live had begun rolling out AXS, a ticketing system of its own, devised as an alternative to Ticketmaster. The Access system is being implemented gradually in arenas and other concert venues across the country. Phillips also suggested that the public's appetite for music festivals has yet to be sated, and that after cloning Coachella across two weekends last year and seeing more demand than tickets available for its country cousin, Stagecoach, he envisioned that "there may be room for a couple of new festivals, if they're carefully vetted and the location is great." Beyond Coachella and Stagecoach, AEG Live, which bills itself as "the largest producer of festivals in North America," oversees the staging of the Hootenanny roots-rock festival in Irvine; the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival; Bayou Country Super Fest in Baton Rouge, La.; Edgefest in Toronto; the Mile High Music Festival in Denver; and several others. The company also produces Las Vegas residencies of entertainers including Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Cher, Barry Manilow and Santana, and will produce forthcoming stands with Guns N' Roses, starting next month at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, and in December with Shania Twain at the Colosseum at Caesar's Palace. Phillips came to AEG in 2000 to create AEG Live, after Leiweke and Anschutz bought Concerts West, a boutique concert touring company, and were looking to expand the business as a way to help fill otherwise vacant nights at the venues AEG owned or operated. Phillips leveraged his relationships with Britney Spears, Toni Braxton and other performers to build AEG Live from the ground up. Whereas Live Nation covered the entire spectrum of live concerts, AEG Live carved out its place in the fiercely competitive promotions business by cherry-picking performers who are most likely to bring in large audiences. Phillips and Leiweke have been in the news recently as part of the ongoing investigation into the 2009 death of Michael Jackson, who had been rehearsing for a ballyhooed AEG-backed comeback engagement in London at the time of his death, which may have factored into Anschutz's decision to sell AEG. E-mails between Leiweke and Phillips concerning Jackson's health and state of mind as the high-stakes engagement drew nearer have gone public recently and show that Jackson's condition was far worse than the AEG team had expressed immediately before and after the singer's death. "My gut feeling when you look at someone like Anschutz: He is so private in his business, yet every time you open the paper lately AEG is in the headlines," the veteran concert promoter said. "He doesn't want his business in the papers. They're having problems with the NHL, there's the Michael Jackson thing.... He has to be thinking, 'Why bother?' I'm 80 years old. I'll just drill holes in North Dakota and pump stuff out for the rest of my life. Who needs this?' "

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blankie · September 2012

Thanks for these articles to you all...make me happy !! :icon_razz: :moonwalk_:

voiceforthesilent · September 2012

Okay - so that is odd about V V. Do you still think he/she is a troll? Is it coincidental that we are seeing this come up on that article? Does it really have any connection to Michael and/or the hoax? On another matter - it would be easy for Kenny and Randy P to say that Michael was fine during the last days because he was

I think they changed their stories later and when BAM happens people will be left with the full truth mixed in with the fables. It's kind of like something I saw on a video where it was told in 2008 that Michael's finances were good that that he was in the middle of acquisitions which made his value look down. It actually said that within 5 years he'd be about 500 million in debt but it was only because of him and Sony buying more companies to add to Sony/ATV. What happened? His debt has been the crux of his woes according to tabloids yet it was foretold in 2008. HIStory is being rewritten alright. Blessings to you

Sale of AEG

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