Ariel Emanuel speaks onstage during Los Angeles LGBT Center's 48th Anniversary Gala Vanguard Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on September 23, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California.

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Concerns about IMG's ownership in a ticketing company that Live Nation had spun off in 2010 led to a Department of Justice request that IMG parent Endeavor's chief executive Ari Emanuel and president Mark Shapiro resign from LN's board of directors, sources tell Billboard.

As part of a consent decree governing Live Nation's merger with Ticketmaster in 2010, the DOJ assistant attorney general for its Antitrust Division Christine Varney required Ticketmaster to sell off Paciolan, a ticketing company it had purchased three years earlier, to Comcast-Spectacor. In 2017, Paciolan was again sold as part of an intra-company transaction to sports marketing platform Learfield IMG College, which Endeavor owns a stake in through its blockbuster purchase of IMG in 2013. Silver Lake and the Comcast-backed Atairos also hold stakes in Learfield with Endeavor.

Emanuel has been on the Live Nation board of directors since 2007 while Shapiro joined the Live Nation board in 2008.

“While there has been no violation of law, we understand and respect the DOJ’s concerns regarding the current similarities of our businesses," a statement from an Endeavor spokesperson reads.

Why the DOJ decided to act now — under the Biden Administration, the DOJ's acting assistant attorney general for Antitrust is career DOJ deputy AG and Distinguished Service Award winner  Richard Powers — is unclear. Emanuel had already agreed to resign from the board effective two weeks ago when his final stock awards in the company had vested.

In a release, the DOJ described the ownership issue as an illegal interlocking directorate where "one person – or an agent of one person or company – serves as an officer or director of two companies."

Section 8 of the Clayton Act "prohibits the same person or company from serving as an officer or director of two competing companies, except under certain defined safe harbors."

"Endeavor and Live Nation compete closely in many sports and entertainment markets. Both Live Nation and Endeavor, through its wholly owned and minority owned subsidiaries, promote and sell tickets and VIP packages that include tickets, lodging and travel accommodations, to live music, sporting and other entertainment events," the release explained.

“These resignations ensure that Endeavor and Live Nation will compete independently,” explains Powers in a release. “Executives are not permitted to hold board positions on companies that compete with each other. The division will enforce the antitrust laws to make sure that all companies compete on the merits.”

 

Why the DOJ decided to act now — under the Biden Administration, the DOJ's acting assistant attorney general for Antitrust is career DOJ deputy AG and Distinguished Service Award winner  Richard Powers — is unclear. Emanuel had already agreed to resign from the board effective two weeks ago when his final stock awards in the company had vested.

In a release, the DOJ described the ownership issue as an illegal interlocking directorate where "one person – or an agent of one person or company – serves as an officer or director of two companies."

Section 8 of the Clayton Act "prohibits the same person or company from serving as an officer or director of two competing companies, except under certain defined safe harbors."

"Endeavor and Live Nation compete closely in many sports and entertainment markets. Both Live Nation and Endeavor, through its wholly owned and minority owned subsidiaries, promote and sell tickets and VIP packages that include tickets, lodging and travel accommodations, to live music, sporting and other entertainment events," the release explained.

“These resignations ensure that Endeavor and Live Nation will compete independently,” explains Powers in a release. “Executives are not permitted to hold board positions on companies that compete with each other. The division will enforce the antitrust laws to make sure that all companies compete on the merits.”

Why the DOJ decided to act now — under the Biden Administration, the DOJ's acting assistant attorney general for Antitrust is career DOJ deputy AG and Distinguished Service Award winner  Richard Powers — is unclear. Emanuel had already agreed to resign from the board effective two weeks ago when his final stock awards in the company had vested.

In a release, the DOJ described the ownership issue as an illegal interlocking directorate where "one person – or an agent of one person or company – serves as an officer or director of two companies."

Section 8 of the Clayton Act "prohibits the same person or company from serving as an officer or director of two competing companies, except under certain defined safe harbors."

"Endeavor and Live Nation compete closely in many sports and entertainment markets. Both Live Nation and Endeavor, through its wholly owned and minority owned subsidiaries, promote and sell tickets and VIP packages that include tickets, lodging and travel accommodations, to live music, sporting and other entertainment events," the release explained.

“These resignations ensure that Endeavor and Live Nation will compete independently,” explains Powers in a release. “Executives are not permitted to hold board positions on companies that compete with each other. The division will enforce the antitrust laws to make sure that all companies compete on the merits.”

Kylie Kelce has responded to speculation that she may be expecting another child.

The 34-year-old, who is married to NFL player Jason Kelce, addressed the rumours after followers shared comments beneath photos from her recent trip to Paris.

Speaking on an episode of Not Gonna Lie, she said, "You know what's f***ed up? Commenting on women's bodies. That's it, that's the whole thought. But specifically commenting on the possibility of a pregnancy. I don't know how many times we have to go over this."

Kelce explained that several remarks appeared under her Paris pictures and decided to read some of them aloud. "There were a few of these comments left on the photos from my Paris trip, so I guess people need a reminder." She continued, "'Is it the dress? Or is that a little baby bump?' Oh. Nope, don't worry it gets worse. The next comment said, 'I see a baby bump.' That was confident. ... The next one says, 'She's pregnant????'"

The mother of four quickly dismissed the claims. "I have so many kids that over the last week, I have had three different people forget that I had four kids and thought I had three," she shared. "I have so many kids that one's getting forgotten along the way. ... Stop trying to get me to have more. Stop it."

She made it clear that conversations about expanding her family are "between me, my husband and my motherf***ing uterus." Kelce also spoke openly about the lasting changes to her figure, saying, "It's not necessarily going to go back to the way it was. Even more so, I have organs. And they go in there. ... Am I 100 per cent pre-baby body? No, because that's never happening. And that's OK, because I have made four human beings."

Kylie and Jason Kelce share four daughters: Wyatt, 6, Ellie, 5, Bennett, 3, and Finn, 16 months.

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