Ticketmaster Group Files for IPO

Ticketmaster Group Inc., the nationwide provider of tickets for professional sports, rock concerts and other entertainment events, filed for an initial public offering of common stock.

The Los Angeles-based company plans to raise $92 million after expenses through the stock sale, according to an S-1 registration statement filed Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Ticketmaster said it would primarily use the money to repay debt.

The stock sale will enable investors to team up with Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft Corp. Allen purchased an 80% stake in Ticketmaster in 1993 and now serves as the company’s chairman.

Allen’s acquisition valued the ticket-selling company at $300 million, according to a Wall Street Journal story at the time.

The value placed on Ticketmaster through the IPO couldn’t be determined because the company didn’t disclose the number of shares to be sold or their price.

Ticketmaster describes itself as the nation’s leading provider of automated ticketing services in the United States with more than 3,500 clients, including Madison Square Garden in New York and Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami. The client list also includes 73 professional sports franchises.

The company says that its ticketing business will experience growth through increased attendance at live events. Ticketmaster also plans to continue to broaden its client base to include venues such as museums, zoos, amusement parks and county fairs.

Ticketmaster said that its businesses generated $241.3 million of revenue during the fiscal year ended Jan. 31. For the six months ended July 31, revenue totaled $146.2 million.

Allen & Co. Inc. will underwrite the stock sale with Lazard Freres & Co. and Smith Barney Inc.