The Department Of Justice announced late last evening that they now have had a team of lawyers ready to oppose the LiveNation Ticketmaster deal and, in fact,that they still oppose the deal.

The DOJ retaliated to rumours and allegations that a merger was on the cusp of being approved. Rumour has it  that the companies leaked selective information ahead of a shareholder vote on the deal scheduled for Friday. Ticketmaster's shares were driven up 7.9% to $14.78 and Live Nations stocks also spiked 8% to $10.10 after rumours came out that the deal was done, but dropped after the DOJ retaliated with the reverse was in fact the case.

Reuters reported that the Antitrust Division has a litigation team that has been “preparing the case” for months, and could decide to take the deal to court.

David Balto, a former policy director at the Federal Trade Commission who works with the coalition, said the opposition to the merger was "unprecedented."

"Over 50 congressmen have spoke with a single voice saying this merger should be stopped," he said.

The merger, which kicked off in early 2008, combines the world's biggest concert promoter with the world's dominant ticketing and artist-management company. In February, Live Nation announced plans to buy Ticketmaster Entertainment for about $400 million in stock, drawing almost immediate criticism from those who felt the combined group would have unrivaled power over music fans and the prices they would have to pay.