The U.S. Department of Justice has approved the deal for Live Nation and Ticketmaster to merge, combining the largest ticket seller with the world's largest concert promoter. The merger is expected to close immediately, according to a CNBC news report. Last week, reports claimed that Live Nation was willing to sell some of its concert venues to rival Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) in exchange for dropping their opposition to the proposed merger, and AEG President and CEO Tim Leiweke released a statement today saying both sides reached fair terms for the deal.

"In connection with the Department of Justice's approval of the proposed merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation, AEG has entered into agreements with the merging parties that will foster our ability to compete effectively in the ticketing, venue operation and live event promotion businesses," Leiweke's statement reads. "Together with other provisions of the Department of Justice’s proposed final judgment, including required divestitures and significant behavioral remedies, we are confident that the arrangements we have reached with the parties will serve to increase competition and further the interests of consumers and other participants in the live entertainment industry, not only in the United States, but in a number of key international markets (including Canada and the United Kingdom, among others)."

The statement explained that under the terms of the deal, AEG will have the ability to operate a private label ticketing site using the Ticketmaster system, with commitments from Ticketmaster to host the private label site and provide ticketing service to AEG venues and events; AEG has complete flexibility to migrate some or all of its ticketing business to one or more alternative ticketing platforms at any time following the merger; and AEG has an option to license and install the software comprising the Ticketmaster host to power a competing ticketing system, should AEG elect not to pursue an alternative technology.

The Live Nation/Ticketmaster pact was originally announced in February 2009, when the boards of both companies agreed to a merger deal that would create one company called Live Nation Entertainment. They said the merger would create a combined enterprise valued at $2.5 billion and Ticketmaster shareholders would receive 1.384 shares of Live Nation stock for each share of Ticketmaster they own. The proposal was billed as a tax-free, all-stock merger of equals. Shareholders in each company would own half of the equity in Live Nation Entertainment, and the two former rivals would each have seven representatives on a 14-person board.

Earlier this month, Live Nation announced that at its annual meeting, stockholders voted to approve the issuance of Live Nation common stock in connection with its previously announced merger with Ticketmaster. Over 99 percent of the shares voted were in favor of the merger.