PARIS &S212; Britain's antitrust regulator said Thursday that it would oppose the planned merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation, warning that the consolidation of two major players in entertainment in the United States and Europe could lead to higher concert ticket prices and less competition.

When the ticketing agent and concert promoter, both based in California, announced in February that they aimed to unite, the proposal immediately raised antitrust worries in the United States and in other countries.

Together, the two companies would be a player with even greater global reach and estimated annual revenue of about $6 billion. Ticketmaster distributes tickets through thousands of retail outlets all over the world, as well as online. Live Nation is the largest concert producer in the world, and the company says it sells 45 million tickets a year.

Britain's Competition Commission, an independent public agency, said in a statement Thursday that "the merger could severely inhibit the entry of a major new competitor" and result in higher prices for consumers.

The agency noted that the proposed merger would jeopardize an existing agreement between Live Nation and CTS Eventim, a ticketing and live entertainment company based in Germany.

The commission said it expected to issue a final decision on Nov. 24.

John Park, a spokesman for the agency, said that "final decisions usually reflect the provisional. At this point we have a thorough assessment easy fast payday loans."

He added, however, that there were a number of potential remedies that might allow a deal to proceed.

"One option would require Live Nation to use CTS for a portion of its business," he said. "Another is a potential divestment" of all or part of Live Nation's or Ticketmaster's operations in Britain, he said.

In response, Ticketmaster and Live Nation said that they would cooperate with the commission and that they remained committed to the merger. They argued that the deal would be in the public interest.

"We believe this merger will build a more efficient and effective company moving forward," the companies said, "and that working together we will be able to help achieve needed change that will strengthen a flagging music industry."

The two companies' willingness to make concessions will be key to whether or not the deal goes through, but a Ticketmaster spokeswoman declined to comment on their strategy.

The proposed merger is still being reviewed by the Justice Department.

Ticketmaster has said before that it does not set ticket prices and leaves those decisions to the artists. However, the company owns a controlling stake in a major artist management firm, Front Line Management.

CTS saw its shares rise 2.16 percent to 32.69 euros in midday trading.

British Regulator Objects to Ticketmaster Merger