Madison Square Garden sells stake in Live Nation
Madison Square Garden sells stake in concert promoter Live Nation for $44M after leaving board
NEW YORK (AP) -- Madison Square Garden Co. has sold its stake in Live Nation for about $44 million, coming after its chairman, James Dolan, resigned from the concert promoter's board last month.
The New York company said Tuesday that stake sold had amounted to 3.9 million shares. That had made it Live Nation's tenth-largest shareholder, according to FactSet.
MSG owns professional sports teams including the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers, as well as the Madison Square Garden arena and Radio City Music Hall in New York. It also owns the MSG sports and Fuse music television networks. Its shares have steadily risen over the past several months, gaining about 26 percent since the start of the year.
Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Live Nation Entertainment Inc. promotes concerts and owns Ticketmaster, one of the world's largest sellers of tickets for concert, sports and other events. Since the beginning of this year, its shares have also gained about 25 percent.
MSG declined further comment on the sale. Officials for Live Nation didn't immediately return an email seeking comment.
In morning trading, Madison Square Garden shares fell 13 cents to $55.82, while Live Nation shares rose 8 cents to $11.71.
