Online tickets site sells itself
Rolling Meadows-based TicketsNow.com -- a ticket reseller that grew out of a one-bedroom apartment in Crystal Lake -- was acquired Tuesday by Ticketmaster for about $265 million.
The suburban firm will retain its name and its 208 employees, said TicketsNow.com Chief Executive Cheryl Rosner, who joined the company about seven months ago.
"We're ready to grow and accelerate the business," she said.
Rosner said she and other executives will remain, while founder and Chairman Mike Domek will leave when the deal closes, possibly by March. Domek declined to comment.
By 1999, Domek launched TicketsNow.com, an online inventory of secondary market tickets for sports, concerts and plays nationwide in Crystal Lake. Buyers include students looking for a hot concert and corporations wanting to send clients to the Super Bowl. It grew into a new Crystal Lake office and opened its headquarters in Rolling Meadows.
Ticketmaster, the world's leading ticketing company, said the acquisition will make it a leader in the resale category.
"Fans have embraced ticket resale, and the combination of Ticketmaster and TicketsNow will allow us to provide a safer, more reliable and efficient resale experience," Ticketmaster President and CEO Sean Moriarty said in a statement. "We are confident that combining TicketsNow's strong resale network with our audience and distribution capabilities will enable us to set a new standard in the resale category."
Ticketmaster will create an integrated platform where fans could simultaneously review and compare ticket availability and pricing in the primary, premium and resale categories.
Building upon its existing TicketExchange resale marketplaces and partnerships with the NFL, NHL and NBA, Ticketmaster will work closely with its venue, promoter, team and other live entertainment clients to offer ticket validation and electronic ticket delivery to fans purchasing in the resale marketplace, the company said.
TicketsNow.com had $202 million in gross ticket sales in 2006. Figures for 2007 were unavailable. It has about 800 professional ticket resellers.
"This was a great opportunity for us to fulfill our vision for TicketsNow," Rosner said.