May 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice and a

group of states will sue Live Nation Entertainment ( LYV ) for

antitrust violations and could seek remedies including breaking

up the company, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.

The Justice Department has been investigating

Ticketmaster's domination of concert ticket sales, sources have

previously told Reuters. Bloomberg said the lawsuit is expected

to be filed in the Southern District of New York on Thursday.

The legal action underscores the aggressive approach

President Joe Biden's antitrust enforcers have adopted as they

seek to create more competition in a wide range of industries

from Big Tech to healthcare to groceries.

Live Nation came under fire in 2022 after Ticketmaster

botched the sale of tickets to Taylor Swift's 2023 tour. U.S.

senators in January 2023 slammed Live Nation's lack of

transparency and inability to block bot purchases of tickets, in

a hearing called after the ticket sales fiasco.

In the lawsuit, the DOJ's options range from requiring the

company to stop illegal behavior, a common request, to asking a

court to break it up, which is rare.

The Justice Department approved Ticketmaster's merger with

Live Nation in 2010, a deal that was controversial at the time.

In 2020, a court extended most of its oversight of the

merger to 2025 because, the department said, Ticketmaster

retaliated against stadiums and arenas that opted to use other

ticketing companies.

Live Nation did not immediately respond to a request for

comment but has said in the past that it was confident its

business practices were legal, and that the probe had been

prompted by complaints from rivals, including re-sellers.

Live Nation's shares fell 7% after the bell. The Department

of Justice did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for

comment.