The Independent

Saturday, November 21 2009

Irish

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Just the ticket for Bono

By Nick Webb

Sunday April 06 2008

FRESH from banking €300m out of U2's landmark deal with concert promoters Live Nation, the Bono-backed private equity group, Elevation Partners, has tried to buy a stake in rival Ticketmaster.

However talks "have cooled", although the proposed deal isn't completely off, according to reports. Ticketmaster is owned by Barry Diller's $6bn valued InterActiveCorp. The company has faced some shareholder opposition over asset sales.

Bono is a director of Silicon Valley-based Elevation Partners, which owns stakes in Forbes Magazine, handset maker Palm, online estate agent Move.com and DVD dubbing firm SDI Media.

- Nick Webb