IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ:IACI)’s Ticketmaster stated yesterday that they would acquire TicketsNow for $265 million.  TicketsNow is a website where consumers can buy tickets for events such as the NFL Playoffs, Hannah Montana, and musicals.

eBay also was rumored to be looking into the acquisition of TicketsNow.  But eBay also recently acquired StubHub for $310 million.  TicketsNow’s first round of funding was $8 million around the middle of 2006 from DFJ, Portage Venture Partners, and New World Ventures.  Then the $8 million turned into equity as the company raised $35 million last year, led by Adam Street Partners.

As Ticketmaster’s contract with concert promotion company, Live Nation Inc. ended recently, Ticketmaster wanted to seek additional revenue streams.  Live Nation is starting their own box office for ticket sales.  Live Nation was a previous subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications.

TicketsNow.com, a company of over 200 individuals created by Mike Domek will soon be moving to a 70,400 sq. foot Corporate Center and is also now backed with $34 million in funding. Not bad for a company that is about 15 years old and started with a $100 investment. This move is an indication that the company is intensely rivaling against StubHub, who was acquired by eBay for $310 million on January 10.

Adams Street Partners accounted for $8.2 million and some of the other investors include New World Ventures and DFJ Portage Venture Partners.

“If Ticketmaster wanted to get into the secondary market in a big way, we’d be a way to do it,” stated Christopher Girgenti, a managing partner for New World Ventures. TicketsNow is gunning for an IPO by the end of the year and is also looking to be acquired by a fat wallet on the web such as Yahoo! or Amazon.

What is the difference between StubHub and TicketsNow?  “While StubHub built a system designed to let individual ticketholders sell their unwanted seats on its site, TicketsNow works primarily with licensed ticket brokers, who list their inventory on the TicketsNow web site and many of whom use the company’s point-of-sale software to track inventory and accounting” writes Ken Schachter of Red Herring.  I believe what this means is that while StubHub sellers are more scalper-like, TicketsNow sellers are more bulk-buyer-like.

TicketsNow has an interesting future and Pulse 2.0 will make sure to stay up-to-date with them.