Live Nation Entertainment faces a new shareholder lawsuit over alleged anti-competitive practices, with executives and board members accused of approving actions that exposed the company to financial risks.

The derivative lawsuit, filed by John Williams, targets CEO Michael Rapino, CFO Joe Berchtold, and Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke. This legal action follows the U.S. Department of Justice's attempt to force Live Nation to sell Ticketmaster for violating its 2010 merger agreement.

Williams claims that:

• The board members' actions will "severely damage and injure" Live Nation and its shareholders
• Live Nation continues to engage in anti-competitive conduct despite the consent decree
• The company misrepresented its cooperation with federal investigators
• Internal emails demonstrate "brazen antitrust violations"

The lawsuit specifically highlights collusion between Live Nation and Oak View Group, a venue operator co-founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff in 2015. Instead of competing, the companies allegedly created a "mutually beneficial scheme" that violated competition law and increased profits at consumers' expense.

According to the lawsuit, Leiweke referred to Oak View as a 'pimp' for Live Nation, delivering threats to venues considering alternative ticket providers to Ticketmaster.

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