Ticketmaster May Be Sold by Year’s End : Entertainment: Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen is considered a top suitor for the computerized ticket broker.

Los Angeles-based Ticketmaster is in advanced discussions with several prospective buyers, sources say, including Portland Trail Blazers owner and Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen.

People close to Ticketmaster, the world’s largest computerized ticket broker, said Wednesday that the company will be sold by the end of the year for about $275 million.

Allen was identified by several sources as a leading contender for Ticketmaster. One knowledgeable executive described the talks as “very serious.” Another said Allen, who could not be reached for comment, recently toured Ticketmaster’s Wilshire Boulevard offices.

However, Ticketmaster Chairman Fred Rosen remains in discussions with several other companies as well. Among those named as possible suitors are Time Warner Inc., Barry Diller’s QVC Network Inc. and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

While Ticketmaster has been on the block for months, recent media alliances such as Bell Atlantic’s planned purchase of Tele-Communications Inc. have apparently intensified interest in the ticketing service. Rosen declined to comment on specific negotiations but confirmed that various discussions have occurred, with New York investment banker Lazard Freres & Co. acting as Ticketmaster’s adviser.

“Ticketmaster is dominant in its field, so it’s natural for companies to talk to us,” Rosen said. “We’re also a small company in today’s environment, so clearly a strategic partner is important to us.”

In discussions with buyers, Rosen is promoting the idea of turning Ticketmaster into a home shopping channel for retail goods as well as tickets. He’s fond of calling it a “gateway” to the public. Rosen maintains that Ticketmaster, which has 400 telephone operators and computerized access to 15,000 events at a given time, is uniquely positioned to take advantage of interactive TV opportunities.

The Chicago-based Pritzker family--which owns the Hyatt hotel chain and other real estate--controls Ticketmaster. But it is Rosen--given a free hand by the Pritzkers--who has built the agency into a powerhouse. The company took over its big competitor, Ticketron, two years ago. It now sells about 54 million tickets a year, reaping $200 million in service and sponsorship fees annually on $1.3 billion in sales.

Those fees have resulted in consumer backlash and several still-unresolved antitrust suits against Ticketmaster. But the sometimes-combative Rosen, 49, has denied any wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, Rosen has steadily expanded into new areas, such as movie ticket sales and retailing. Ticketmaster is also considering turning its events guide--which reaches 500,000 subscribers--into a more traditional consumer magazine.

One sticking point in sale negotiations is said to be Rosen’s future role in the company, since the entrepreneurial executive apparently wants to maintain his autonomy.

Sources say Allen, who holds a 24.9% stake in the America Online interactive computer service, sees Ticketmaster as the possible foundation for his own interactive TV channel.

In what some viewed as a precursor to Allen’s possible purchase of Ticketmaster, America Online, Tribune Co. and Ticketmaster this week announced that they have entered into an agreement to sell tickets and merchandise in Chicago and Florida through personal computers.

Allen is one of the more intriguing, eclectic figures to emerge from the high-technology boom. He become a billionaire by helping Harvard classmate Bill Gates launch Microsoft but left the company 10 years ago when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease.

He since has invested heavily in interactive and multimedia companies, indicating that he may seek a controlling stake in America Online and creation of Asymetrix, which produces software for multimedia computer programs. Allen also owns the Portland Trail Blazers and bankrolled a Seattle museum honoring one of his heroes: 1960s guitar legend Jimi Hendrix.