Tickets.com is a global ticketing technology company based in
Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa (; Spanish for "Table Coast") is a city in Orange County, California. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John Wa ...
, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Major League Baseball Advanced Media
MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM) is a limited partnership of the club owners of Major League Baseball (MLB) based in New York City and is the Internet and interactive branch of the league.
Robert Bowman, former president and CEO of MLBAM, indicated in ...
.
History
Tickets.com was originally incorporated as Entertainment Express, Inc. in 1995. In 1996, the company's business operations were launched by its co-founders Irv Richter, David Richter, Jim Cassano, and Larry Schwartz with the acquisition of Hill Arts and Entertainment Systems. That same year, the company came under the control of California venture capital firm Ventana Global. Over the next two years the company acquired a dozen others, including BASS and Tickets.com, a company incubated by
Idealab Idealab (formerly known as idealab!) is a startup studio based in Pasadena, California, U.S.A.
History
Idealab was founded by Bill T. Gross (not to be confused with the founder of PIMCO, Bill H. Gross) in March 1996. Prior to Idealab, Gross founde ...
. Following the Tickets.com acquisition in 1999, the entire company was rebranded as Tickets.com.
In November 1999 Tickets.com made an
IPO
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
led by
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...
and its Internet analyst
Mary Meeker
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, which raised $75 million, with the price rising 60% on its first day of trading. In June 2000 the company negotiated a deal that would lead to its eventual acquisition, winning the exclusive rights to be the provider of online ticketing services to
Major League Baseball Advance Media (MLBAM), through a multi-year agreement. In 2005, Tickets.com was sold to Major League Baseball Advanced Media, LP for $66 million.
References
External links
* {{official
Ticket sales companies
Major League Baseball mass media