A ”Signature” deal for Live Nation
According to a report on today’s New York Post, Live Nation is in advanced talks to acquire the Material Girl’s merchandising company.
A deal for Signatures Network, which holds the rights to license and market more than 125 artists including Madonna, U2, Kanye West and Bruce Springsteen, is expected to be announced in the next two weeks, according to four sources close to the situation.
According to the Post’s sources, Live Nation is paying around $50 million for the merchandising company, which reportedly generates about $120 million in annual revenue but operates with very small profit margins.
A spokesman for Live Nation declined to comment. Signatures Network CEO Dell Furano did not return a call for comment.
The article from the Post also points out how Live Nation has been quietly gobbling up ancillary businesses related to the concert industry as a way to extend its reach and diversify its revenue stream.
Earlier this year the company acquired the remaining stake in high-end concert T-shirt merchandiser Trunk it didn’t already own.
Last month it acquired the 50 percent portion of UltraStar it did not own. UltraStar is the company that runs the official artist Web sites for Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Police and others.
Live Nation also recently bought fan club ticketing service MusicToday and merchandising company Ant Hill Trading.
Signatures Network is bigger than all of those assets combined, however, with sources saying that the $50 million Live Nation is shelling out for the company is twice what it paid for the others.
Though it has focused solely on tour merchandising in the past, sources said Signatures Network was now looking to strike all-encompassing rights deals that would also include things like fragrances and accessories in addition to tour-related merchandise.
From an article by Peter Lauria, the New York Post.