Saudi Arabia Purchases $500 Million Stake in Live Nation

Approximately 20 percent of Live Nation Entertainment employees have been furloughed as part of the company's cost-cutting measures amid the spread of the novel coronavirus, company sources toldThe Hollywood Reporter on Friday. Those furloughs began in late April and affected hundreds of Ticketmaster employees.

Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, has acquired stakes in The Walt Disney Co., Facebook, Starbucks and other large U.S. public companies in the past few months.

2,100 employees forced into involuntary leave

Live Nation has furloughed approximately 2,100 of its 10,5000 employees across multiple divisions at the company Billboard has learned.The staff reductions are part of an effort that began in April to reduce costs by $600 million as the publicly traded concert promoters prepares to weather an extended shutdown due to the COVID-19 crisis.This is a developing story...

By Todd Spangler

Live Nation is raising $1.2 billion in a note sale that closes May 20, giving the promoter and ticketing company roughly $3 billion of liquidity going into a near-empty summer concert season. The 6.5% senior secured notes will be used for general corporate purposes and will be due in 2027.The addition of these new notes would bring long-term debt to $4.85 billion and add to interest payments that totaled $157.5 million in 2019.

Live Nation Entertainment has been hit with a credit rating downgrade from S&P Global Ratings. The research firm on Wednesday reduced the concert promoter's rating to B+, from BB-, with a negative outlook, as it argued a prolonged postponement or cancellation of concerts and other events risked "dramatic revenue declines," which in turn would drive up Live Nation's debt load.

By Jill Goldsmith

With a pandemic hanging over the touring industry, Live Nation's first quarter earnings released Thursday revealed the damage caused since concerts were widely suspended in mid-March: Compared to Q1 2019, concert revenue dropped 24.6% and ticketing revenue fell 15.8%.This year, Live Nation will host virtual concerts, is testing drive-in concerts -- these started popping up in parking lots as early as mid-June -- and will later give superstar artists multiple theater dates rather than a single

Concert promoter Live Nation has said they are planning to resume concerts at "full scale" in 2021, after the spread of coronavirus stopped live shows across the world.

"Our goal is really to be on sale in the third and fourth quarters for 2021 at full scale.”

By Todd Spangler

Ticketmaster has furloughed hundreds of employees across multiple offices in North America, marking the first major employment cuts at the Live Nation-owned concert company in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. The company is considering additional cost saving measures, Billboard has learned, as it analyzes the possibility of having little to no revenue in 2020.

Ticketmaster has furloughed hundreds of employees across multiple offices in North America, marking the first major cuts at the Live Nation-owned concert company in the face of the COVID-19 crisis.More furloughs are likely at the company, Billboard has learned, catching some employees by surprise who said they were given assurances on multiple calls that the company would do everything it could to avoid cutting staff.But officials at Live Nation said that the furloughs were part of a series of

Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF)'s $500 million purchase of a 5.7% stake in Live Nation on the open market Monday (April 27) could indicate a more passive play for the entertainment business since the country has been largely shunned over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last October.The gruesome murder was allegedly ordered by Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to reports by U.S.

The Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign-wealth fund, recently purchased a large stake in Live Nation Entertainment, the world’s largest live-entertainment company, according to SEC filings released Monday.

By Jill Goldsmith