Tickets.com Merges With Two Firms to Take On Ticketmaster

Tickets.com Inc. Monday merged with two other online event ticketing companies in a move it hopes will better position it to compete against Ticketmaster Online City Search.

Privately-held Tickets.com is merging with TicketsLive Corp. and is buying TicketStop Inc. Combined, the two companies handle online ticketing for more than 2,600 venues around the world. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Separately, the company said it has received $30 million from a variety of private investors, including Jackson International LLC, pop singer Michael Jackson’s investment arm, and IMG/Chase Sports Capital.

Earlier this year, Tickets.com merged with Advantix, a ticket supplier that grew over the years by buying out smaller competitors. That deal is expected to close in May.

“This acquisition underscores our commitment to revolutionize the ticketing industry by giving technology leaders like TicketStop access to the growing online ticket business… We are delighted that TicketStop is now part of the Tickets.com family,” said James A. Caccavo, Tickets.com’s president of Internet operations.

TicketStop President and Chief Executive Officer Al Cox said the merger will also benefit that company’s current venues and customers.

“This move reflects our commitment to help our venue partners increase their sales by making tickets and information for their events more easily accessible to consumers,” he said.

Ticketmaster and CitySearch merged last August and the company late last year pulled off a wildly-successful initial public offering that raised $98 million.