Reports indicate that the Live Nation-Ticketmaster antitrust lawsuit could be filed tomorrow

Top line

According to Bloomberg and The Washington Post, the Justice Department will file a lawsuit against entertainment giant Live Nation on Thursday over allegations that the company monopolized the concert ticket market in a likely attempt to break up controversial parent Ticketmaster, which sent Live Nation shares tumbling in after-hours trading.

Live Nation merged with Ticketmaster in 2010. (Photo: Rafael Henrique/SOPA … (+) Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

SOPA/LightRocket images via Getty Images

Key facts

The antitrust lawsuit could be filed Thursday in the Southern District of New York, and multiple states could join the Justice Department, Bloomberg reports, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.

According to Bloomberg, one countermeasure the Justice Department could take is to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster, which merged in 2010 after ensuring that the combined companies would not retaliate against venues that did not use Ticketmaster.

As of 7:13 a.m. ET, Live Nation shares were down more than 7% in after-hours trading.

Live Nation and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment.

This is a developing story. Check for updates.