Ticketmaster Appoints HSN Committee

Ticketmaster Group Inc. said it appointed a committee of two outside directors to consider an offer by HSN Inc. to buy the half of the company HSN doesn’t own for $307.5 million in cash. The committee named to evaluate the $25-a-share offer will consist of Jonathan Dolgen, who also is an executive with Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures studio, and Peter Barton, the former head of Tele-Communications Inc.’s Liberty Media Group. They will retain financial and legal advisors, the company said. HSN, which runs the Home Shopping Network and recently bought the USA Network cable channel, wants West Hollywood-based Ticketmaster to boost its revenue through cross-promotions. HSN Chairman and Chief Executive Barry Diller is trying to create a large media company by combining a variety of interests. Ticketmaster’s shares rose 38 cents to close at $23.13 on Nasdaq.