While many in the industry are winding down for the holiday season, Live Nation’s busy fourth quarter has continued with another multi-million dollar deal.

Live Nation’s purchase of US merchandising company Signatures Network is the latest in a dramatic series of deals by the international promotion giant as it continues to reposition itself as a global music company.

While many in the industry are winding down for the holiday season, Live Nation’s busy fourth quarter has continued with another multi-million dollar deal.

Live Nation’s purchase of US merchandising company Signatures Network is the latest in a dramatic series of deals by the international promotion giant as it continues to reposition itself as a global music company.

Signatures Network holds the merchandising rights to 150 major acts including The Beatles, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand and Justin Timberlake, and the $79million (€54m) deal – a mixture of cash, stock and repayment of debt – sees it become the fourth merchandise company in the Live Nation fold, joining Anthill Trading, TRUNK and Musictoday.

Michael Cohl, chairman and CEO of Live Nation Artists, says: “This acquisition is a key component to our strategy to build a unified business around touring artists, managing their rights holistically and helping them reach their true potential.”

The move follows the recent formation of Artist Nation, a division of Live Nation that aims to partner directly with artists to manage their diverse range of rights through corporate alliances; direct marketing; mobile telephone partnerships; online activities; fan websites; and Live Nation’s growing ticketing activities and its database of over 25 million fans.

The division was kick-started with the completion of the 360-degree Madonna deal in October that saw the material girl furnished with $120m (€82m) in a mixture of cash and shares, in exchange for three studio albums, tours and a range of exclusive rights.

“Artist Nation has put together a superstar team in every area of the music chain,” Cohl says.