Livent Gets Courts’ OK to Sell Assets to SFX

Livent Inc., the financially troubled theater production company, won U.S. and Canadian court approval to sell most of its assets to SFX Entertainment Inc., the world’s largest producer of live entertainment, for about $128 million in cash and future payments. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur Gonzalez and Ontario Court Justice John Ground, participating via a satellite link, cleared the purchase. SFX is acquiring Livent’s theaters in New York, Chicago and Toronto and rights to current productions, including “Fosse” and “Ragtime,” as well as future productions. Livent has about 750 employees in North America. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in November, three months after new managers discovered what they alleged was massive fraud by founders Garth Drabinsky and Myron Gottlieb to falsify financial statements to make the company look successful. SFX’s stock rose $1.69 to $71.25 on the NYSE.