Tickets Com

Newport Beach-based Tickets.com Inc. on Wednesday said that it had completed its previously announced $1.5-million acquisition of Lasergate Systems Inc., based in Clearwater, Fla. The cash buyout of Lasergate was initiated in June, but Tickets.com at the time already had a majority stake in the company. Tickets.com is an event ticketing company with an extensive line of automated ticketing technology and a significant online presence.

Global online ticketing service MovieTickets.com has joined a lawsuit filed against one of its founding shareholders, AMC Entertainment Inc., the nation's second-largest theater chain. MovieTickets.com, a Boca Raton, Fla., joint venture launched 12 years ago that serves 247 exhibitors, said Wednesday that it was adding its name to a suit recently filed in Florida by exhibitor National Amusements and Hollywood Media Corp. alleging that AMC breached its contract by not selling tickets exclusively through MovieTickets.com.

Tickets.com Inc. in Costa Mesa said Wednesday that it has joined with an Atlanta company to provide software that allows entertainment organizations to price tickets based on analyses of consumer demand. Tickets.com said that its agreement with Talus Solutions Inc. would offer booking organizations software called Dynamic Pricing. Tickets.com provides event and travel tickets through the Internet.

It's like scalping, only in reverse. Investors who have owned shares of Tickets.com since the Internet boom in 1999, when the stock soared to $256, now get to sell them for the markdown price of just over a dollar. The Internet arm of Major League Baseball said Tuesday it had agreed to acquire the Costa Mesa-based online sports and entertainment ticket seller for $66.5 million, or $1.10 a share. That's about a 33% premium over Monday's closing price of 83 cents.

A federal judge ruled that it is not illegal for online companies to link to rival Web sites, a controversial practice seen as critical in helping Internet firms build audiences. The ruling, made late Monday as part of a lawsuit filed by Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch Inc. against upstart Tickets.com, gives ammunition to other companies on the World Wide Web that are facing increasing complaints about a practice known as "hyperlinking."

As event ticketing shifts Web-ward, online companies are expanding beyond traditional seat-selling to offer an array of customized goods and services based on information that technology allows them to gather on customers. Buy Bruce Springsteen tickets electronically? Expect e-mail offering special tour memorabilia or a link to a ticketer's online store to pick up the Boss' CDs. Want U.S. Open tennis tickets?

The Costa Mesa ticketing company posted a third-quarter net loss of $15.4 million, or 26 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $14.8 million, or 96 cents a share, for the third quarter of 1999. Revenue increased 5% to $14.5 million.

Costa Mesa ticketing company Tickets.com Inc. will handle ticket sales for the Chicago Cubs, starting with the team's 2001 season, the company and the Cubs announced Wednesday. Financial terms were not disclosed. In June Tickets.com signed an agreement to handle online ticket sales for major league baseball beginning next year.

Tickets.com Inc. said Wednesday it acquired British ticketing software company Dataculture Ltd. for an undisclosed amount of cash, a move that is intended to strengthen the Costa Mesa company's international presence. Dataculture will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Tickets.com, a Costa Mesa online provider of entertainment tickets and event information. Last week, Tickets.com received a $55-million investment from Internet portal company Excite@Home and $30 million from Cox Interactive Media.

Online Costa Mesa ticketing company Tickets.com Inc. said Monday that it has reached agreement with Visa USA to form an online security and marketing alliance for live-event ticket distribution. The companies said in a press release Monday that Tickets.com will use the Visa payer authentication system. The proprietary technology is designed to strengthen the safety and security of consumer transactions online. Visa will become Tickets.com's preferred payment method.

Ron Bension, who quit suddenly last week as head of video game maker Sega GameWorks, took over this week as chief executive at Tickets.com Inc., the Irvine event ticket firm said Wednesday. Bension, 47, who previously rose through the ranks of Universal Studios Inc. to head its theme-park business, takes over a firm that hasn't posted a profit since going public in November 1999. He replaces W. Thomas Gimple, who becomes chairman. Gimple had been co-chairman with C.

Tickets.com Inc., which sells tickets to events over the Internet, said Thursday its shares will remain listed on the Nasdaq National Market. The stock was in danger of being delisted for failing to meet the market's minimum price requirement of $1 per share. But the Costa Mesa company completed a 1-for-8 reverse stock split and received $17 million in additional equity financing. The stock on Thursday edged up 12 cents to $3.03.

Tickets.com Inc. shareholders have approved a 1-for-8 reverse stock split, a move aimed at pushing the Costa Mesa company's shares above the minimum price required to retain their Nasdaq listing. The reverse split will be completed prior to the opening of trading on Monday, according to the company, a provider of entertainment, sports and travel tickets. In the process, every eight outstanding shares of common stock will be converted into one share.

Tickets.com Inc., a provider of entertainment, sports and travel tickets, said Monday it received an extension from a Nasdaq panel to comply with the minimum stock price requirement of $1 a share for continued listing. The Costa Mesa company is asking shareholders to approve a 1-for-8 reverse stock split and an arrangement for additional financing at its annual meeting July 11. The stock, which has been trading below $1 this year, on Monday edged up 2 cents to 40 cents a share.

Despite posting a wider first-quarter loss, Tickets.com Inc. of Costa Mesa enjoyed a spike in its sagging stock price Wednesday after disclosing that it has picked up $15 million in private financing. The company said in a press release that the proceeds will fund operations through late this year, beyond the time it expects to achieve cash-flow profitability. The stock gained 20 cents to close at 52 cents a share on Nasdaq. Earlier Wednesday, Tickets.

Online Costa Mesa ticketing company Tickets.com Inc. said Monday that it has reached agreement with Visa USA to form an online security and marketing alliance for live-event ticket distribution. The companies said in a press release Monday that Tickets.com will use the Visa payer authentication system. The proprietary technology is designed to strengthen the safety and security of consumer transactions online. Visa will become Tickets.com's preferred payment method.

Costa Mesa ticketing company Tickets.com Inc. will handle ticket sales for the Edmonton Oilers, starting with the upcoming National Hockey League season. Financial terms were not disclosed. Tickets.com provides ticketing for the Dallas Stars and Buffalo Sabres. The company also has an agreement to handle online ticket sales for major league baseball beginning next year.

Tickets.com Inc. said Thursday that it has signed agreements to provide Internet ticketing capabilities to more than 400 venues worldwide. The Costa Mesa company said in a press release that it will provide consumers with Internet access to tickets through its interfaces with venue box offices. The company said that as the venues become Internet-enabled, which it expects to occur through this spring or summer, Tickets.com will receive revenue from each ticket sold over its Internet network.

Online ticketing agency Tickets.com Inc. said Wednesday that it has received notice from Nasdaq that the company's stock listing may be removed from Nasdaq's national market system because the stock has traded below $1 a share since early November. The Costa Mesa company said in a press release that its request for a hearing has been granted by Nasdaq's listing qualifications panel. The hearing is set for May 10. Until then, the stock will continue to trade on the national market system.

Tickets.com Inc. narrowed its losses in the fourth quarter as revenue increased. The Costa Mesa online ticket service said it lost $13.8 million, or 23 cents a share, for the three months, compared with a year-earlier net loss of $28.4 million, or 71 cents a share. Revenue rose 20% to $15.3 million. For the year, the company lost $105.7 million, or $1.80 a share, compared with a net loss of $66.6 million, or $3.55 a share, for 1999. Revenue was up 28% to $58.7 million. Tickets.