Top Endeavor execs leave Live Nation board under antitrust pressure

WASHINGTON, June 21 (Reuters) - Two top executives of Endeavor Group Holdings, including chief executive Ari Emanuel, have stepped down from the board of directors of entertainment giant Live Nation because of antitrust concerns, the U.S. Justice Department said on Monday.

Emanuel has been on the Live Nation board of directors since 2007 while Mark Shapiro, president of Endeavor, joined the Live Nation board in 2008, according to the Live Nation website.

The Justice Department said that it had expressed concern about the presence of the two men on the board creating "an illegal interlocking directorate," where two competitors have the same people running them.

Endeavor and Live Nation sell tickets and packages to live music, sports and other entertainment, the department said.

"These resignations ensure that Endeavor and Live Nation will compete independently," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Richard Powers of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. "Executives are not permitted to hold board positions on companies that compete with each other."

Spokespeople for Live Nation and Endeavor did not immediately respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Diane Bartz, Editing by Nick Zieminski)