Ticketmaster to Buy CityAuction for $54 Million

Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch Inc., which offers entertainment-event tickets and city guides over the Internet, plans to buy closely held Internet auctioneer CityAuction Inc. for about $54 million in stock to offer local auctions of bulky items such as furniture, the companies said.

Pasadena-based Ticketmaster-CitySearch said it hopes to attract sellers and buyers of merchandise that’s difficult to transport, including cars. The company plans to integrate the auctions into its network of guides of about 19 cities and regions in the United States, Scandinavia and Australia.

Ticketmaster-CitySearch is hoping to capitalize on the Internet person-to-person auction craze. EBay Inc., the leading online auctioneer, has seen its shares rise sixteenfold since going public in September. EBay, one of the few profitable Internet-related companies, makes money by charging listing fees and taking a cut of each sale.

Palo Alto, Calif.-based CityAuction was started in 1997 and had listed about 115,000 auctions as of Dec. 31. EBay has listed more than 21 million auctions on its site since the company was started in 1995.

Ticketmaster-CitySearch, which said it would exchange 800,000 shares for CityAuction, didn’t disclose revenue or profit details for the auctioneer.

USA Networks Inc., the parent company of Home Shopping Network, owns 61% of Ticketmaster-CitySearch.

Ticketmaster-CitySearch shares jumped $10.63 to close at $67.50 on Nasdaq.