Mar. 13 at 9:04 PM
PickAlpha Midday:
Live Nation’s antitrust saga just turned into political theater: Michael Rapino skipped the stand and instead signed a last-minute DOJ settlement in Washington that even surprised parts of the trial process — the judge called the way he was informed “entirely unacceptable.” The backstory matters: Bloomberg Law reports Live Nation pushed its case in an October DOJ meeting with help from Kellyanne Conway and board member Ric Grenell, and negotiations accelerated as the trial approached — while multiple states are still pressing ahead with the case. 
Tickers:
$LYV
Our view is this is headline risk for both sides. If the states keep the trial alive, Live Nation stays stuck in multi-month legal overhang; if more states fold into the settlement,
$LYV gets a relief trade — but the market will still demand proof that “concessions” actually change pricing power at Ticketmaster.
