Madison Square Garden (MSGN) sold its entire stake in Ticketmaster-owner Live Nation Entertainment (LYV 1.85%) Tuesday, generating net proceeds of $44 million for the 3.9 million shares sold.
MSG said in a terse statement that it "had no further comment on the transaction," but the move appears to have been motivated in part by the fact that MSG had only a small stake in the company -- just 3.2% of shares outstanding, making it only the 10th largest shareholder in Live Nation. Also, MSG Chairman James Dolan resigned from Live Nation's Board of Directors last month, further eroding ties between the companies.
Without an interest in Live Nation, MSG remains a highly diversified company, owning both the New York Knicks basketball team and the New York Rangers hockey team, as well as the Madison Square Garden arena and Radio City Music Hall. MSG also owns the Fuse music television network, MSG Networks, and various interactive websites, social-networking sites, and mobile applications.
MSG shares closed 1% lower in Tuesday trading at $55.42. Live Nation shares gained 0.2% to close at $11.65.
