Tuesday, February 23, 2010

CitySide Tickets, Inc. (CIST.PK) Announces LOI to Acquire International Entertainment Broker

CitySide Tickets, Inc., owner and operator of www.CitySidetickets.com, a nationwide event ticket purchasing venue that caters to a diverse selection of popular theater, music, and sporting events, today announced after the closing bell that it has signed a Letter of Intent with StadiumTickets.com, an international entertainment and event ticket broker exchange. Terms of the agreement include a 100% ownership in the StadiumTickets.com by CitySide Tickets, Inc.

The lucrative secondary ticket market has completely transformed since the mid-1990’s. Commonly known as “Scalpers,” tradesmen of the illegal ticket trade can still be heard outside stadiums and concerts. But the days of the scalper are drawing to a close; the secondary ticket market today is now a slick, technology-driven, multi-billion dollar business. More and more consumers now purchase their tickets online through one of the many secondary ticket brokerages. The internet has turned scalping into a sophisticated white-collar trade.

According to U.S.-based Forrester Research, the ticket resale business was a natural one to move online. It is anticipated that the dominant U.S. market of online secondary ticket sales will reach $4.5 billion by 2012. Recent big name industry purchases have affirmed that there are still incredible growth opportunities available, including Ticketmaster’s deal to acquire online ticket scalper TicketsNow for $265 million, eBay’s (NASDAQ:EBAY) acquisition of StubHub for $310 million last year, and top-tier VC firm Kleiner Perkins’ $26 million investment in RazorGator back in 2005.

Forrester Research believes this growth has been driven by advances in computer hardware and software, rising consumer comfort with purchasing tickets online, and increased competition in the online secondary ticketing marketplace. Today’s state-of-the-art online programs allow tickets to be bought at home and resold with the ease of a mouse click. With such a massive growth opportunity, CitySide Tickets, Inc. believes that a capture of even a small percentage of market share can make the difference to their stockholders. To this end, the Company has taken an aggressive ownership arrangement through a Letter of Intent with StadiumTickets.com.

Beginning next month, StaduimTickets.com will feature real-time entertainment and event ticket brokering through a secure network across the United States and Europe. Through the fully featured online portal, brokers will be able to negotiate rates, see ticket availability, and trade tickets for virtually any event.

Company CEO Michael DeAmicis stated, “We’re pleased to sign this Letter of Intent with StadiumTickets.com. An international venture like this has been something our company has been searching for. To be able to connect in real-time with ticket brokers in Europe will only expand our event offerings and ability to procure tickets to all performances in an international tour from the most popular artists. I think our customers will appreciate these added benefits.”

CitySide Tickets, Inc.’s online portal allows consumers to search for their favorite artist, a local venue, or for all events within range of a particular ZIP code. The website, www.CitySidetickets.com, also enables visitors to sell whatever available event tickets they hold for any price the seller sets. The no-hassle ability for anyone to sell their event tickets online in just a few minutes is a powerful and dynamic feature that sets CitySide Tickets apart from the competition.

About QualityStocks:

QualityStocks’ Small Cap Stock Newsletter is a free service that collects data from hundreds of Small-Cap online Investment Newsletters into one free Daily Newsletter Report.

Sign up for “The QualityStocks Daily Newsletter” please visit www.QualityStocks.net

The Quality Stocks Daily Blog http://blog.qualitystocks.net

The Quality Stocks “Ones to Watch” http://Gotstocks.QualityStocks.net

Please see disclaimer on QualityStocks website: http://disclaimer.qualitystocks.net

No comments: