Yesterday Hypebot shared 6 Predictions For Live Nation Ticketmaster, but paidContent's Rory Maher went beyond predictions and did a detailed analysis of how Live Nation and Ticketmaster were likely to make the merger worthwhile to stockholders. Based on annual and quarterly reports and some fairly sound assumptions Maher concluded that double digit ticket price increases are inevitable.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) margins are now about 7%. How can they drive that number higher?
- Ticket price increases of 2 - 8% generate margin improvement of between -0.8% and +1.3%
- Ticket price increases of 10% leas to margin improvement of more than 2%
- 15% ticket price increases bring profit margins of 3.6%
"The bottom line is that if the merger fails to create incremental returns for Live Nation Entertainment, consumers win but shareholders lose. If the merger does generate enough incremental returns, on the other hand, shareholders win and consumers lose. I’m putting my money behind the shareholders."
