May 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is

conducting a criminal antitrust probe of AEG and Live Nation's

response to concert cancellations at the beginning of

the pandemic in 2020, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday,

citing people with knowledge of the matter.

The probe is focused on whether the companies colluded on

refund policies for cancelled concerts, according to the report.

Collusion with competitors can be a criminal offense under

antitrust laws.

Spokespeople for the companies and the DOJ did not

immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.

The DOJ has filed a separate civil case seeking to break up

Live Nation, and accusing the company and its TicketMaster unit

of illegally inflating concert ticket prices and hurting

artists.