Report: Merger of AEG Facilities, SMG Clears Regulatory Hurdles

Billboard is reporting that the proposed merger between AEG Facilities and SMG has been cleared by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), as well as the U.S. Department of Justice. A formal closing of the deal that would create the world’s biggest company in facility management is expected to come next month.

The initial proposed merger was announced in February, promising a “new, standalone global facility management and venue services company” that will operate as ASM Global. It will be headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with operations based in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Overall, it will operate more than 310 venues across five countries.

Because of the scale of the companies involved, it was natural that the anti-trust regulators on both sides of the Atlantic would take a look at the merger. But, according to Billboard, the CMA’s “phase 1” investigation concluded that it wouldn’t result in a substantial lessening of competition.

“We are pleased that the proposed merger of AEG Facilities and SMG has received unconditional clearance from the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA),” a spokesperson for AEG said in a statement.

It is unclear how the merger will impact the ticketing operations for buildings operated by the new company. AEG, the parent company of AEG Facilities, owns AXS and Elevate Tickets, which provides ticketing services for more than 200 clients worldwide. Ticketmaster, owned by Live Nation, has been accused by AEG of anti-competitive practices in the past, and the two companies engaged in a lengthy feud over alleged “block booking” of venues in Los Angeles and the U.K.

Photo: LA’s Staples Center – Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1422936