Company Town

Ticketing: Billionaire Paul Allen, who co-founded software giant Microsoft and owns the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team, is buying control of Los Angeles-based Ticketmaster for a price sources put at more than $300 million. Allen, who had been considered the front-runner to acquire the ticketing company, is believed to be buying about 80% of the company. The Pritzker family of Chicago previously controlled the company and will retain a small piece of it, sources said. Allen will serve as Ticketmaster chairman, and Fred Rosen, who oversaw Ticketmaster’s explosive growth during the past decade, will continue to serve as president and CEO. Allen is interested in developing multimedia technologies that could be used by Ticketmaster.