Todd Goldstein, who has been with the company since 2001, recently was elevated to chief revenue officer and will continue in that role. Steven Cohen, EVP of the Anschutz Co., will serve as AEG's chief strategic officer while retaining his role at AEG's parent company.

Beckerman, Fikre, Marciano, Goldstein and Cohen, together with Anschutz, will constitute AEG's Office of the chairman.

“From the very beginning of the sales process, we have made it clear to our employees and partners throughout the world that unless the right buyer came forward with a transaction on acceptable terms we would not sell the Company,” says Anschutz in a prepared statement.

According to Anschutz, “From the very first days of AEG, my vision has been to tie together world class real estate development structured around entertainment venues with premium sports and live entertainment content. In recent years we have developed related businesses to further promote and enhance the performance of AEG's facilities for the benefit of our partners, including our sponsors, artists, consumers and the communities in which we operate."

He explains that "The company's operations will continue to be run by AEG's experienced senior executive team, most of whom have been with AEG for over a decade. We will continue to set the standards in the industries in which AEG operates, bringing our unique vision and development model to entertainment locations throughout the world.”

Talk of an AEG sale has been in the works for some time. As GlobeSt.com reported in September 2012, the Anschutz Co. had put AEG up for sale the previous month for an undisclosed sum. To assist the sale process, Anschutz had retained Blackstone Advisory Partners as financial advisors, a firm that had recently managed the auction of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Cannon Y. Harvey, president of the Anschutz Co., said at the time, “This process represents a unique opportunity to maximize value for all concerned and will allow us to assure that, like the Anschutz Co., the new owner will have the financial resources, commitment and vision to support AEG's management team as it continues to grow the businesses of AEG and the power of its brands.” Harvey added in a prepared statement that the sale process will be conducted “in a manner that avoids disruption of the day-to-day operations of AEG and its constituencies.”

In addition, as GlobeSt.com had reported, Anschutz was marketing AEG to the qualified party best able to reflect the full value of AEG and that is fully committed to working with the subsidiary's management team as it pursues its long-term business objective. With this unique international platform, the intention was that the new owner would be able to capitalize on the growing global demand and value of live sports and entertainment content linked to important real estate developments on a worldwide basis.

Putting AEG on the sale block complicated the approval process for an NFL football stadium and convention site to be built downtown next to Staples Center and the L.A. Live entertainment district. As GlobeSt.com reported in October 2012, several industry sources had reported that the Los Angeles City Council had approved plans for construction of the stadium and convention site. In a 12-0 vote at the end of September 2012, with three members absent, AEG received approval to build the $1-billion stadium, named Farmers Field, with the convention site slated to cost an extra $314.6 million. At the time, the backers needed to recruit at least one team to play at the stadium since the contract between the city and AEG features more than 1,000 pages of protections should the company be sold, according to Miguel A. Santana, L.A.'s chief administrative officer. AEG's president and CEO Tim Lieweke said during the hearing that the general fund would not be at risk and that AEG's plans to sell the company were revealed before the council's vote. The proposed 78,000-square-foot stadium and convention center was expected to create jobs and revenue for the city, Lieweke added, and would be paid for with private funds.

According to Beckerman, priority projects going forward include the development of Farmers Field adjacent to the company's L.A. Live campus and the pursuit of its plan to bring the NFL back to Los Angeles. In addition, he points out that the company will focuse on its "initiative to collaborate with MGM to build a new arena in Las Vegas, the acquisition of ownership stakes and the associated refurbishment of several major global arenas in Europe and our ongoing investment in AXS.com, our ticketing and e-commerce platform, as we expand its capabilities for the benefit of our venues, partners, performers and consumer end-users.”

GlobeSt.com will follow up as more information becomes available.