by Richard Kastelein

OP/ED - "Today's clearance is an important milestone in the regulatory review process, and brings the companies a step closer to creating a new kind of live entertainment business." says Ticketmaster UK managing director Chris Edmonds.  

New kind? More like it will be the only kind. And we might as well rephrase it a Triopoly since CTS Eventim clearly decided not to get too vocal about the deal and there must be some kind of carrot that's not on the open table. However, shares in CTS Eventim were trading down 3 percent in Frankfurt in a bullish overall market. They can't be too happy.  But who knows what or if any kind of graft or pressure was being buffed or batted around the back rooms of The UK Competition Commission.The reversal of rejection to support does smell a bit odd.