It’s been a rough year for Eventbrite, which suffered major losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with massive 45 percent reduction of staff that was revealed in May. The company has now been forced to settle a lawsuit for $1.9 million, over allegations that the company provided false or misleading statements ahead of its IPO in 2018.
Investors sued the company in 2019, alleging that Eventbrite misled them about its acquisition of Ticketfly and its integration into Eventbrite. The company’s stock price reportedly plunged in early 2019, following updated revenue guidance, while investors launched the lawsuit after discovering the challenges Ticketfly’s integration faced. In the summer of 2018 Ticketfly was hacked, exposing the data of 26 million customers, which led to class action lawsuit in August. That November the website announced it was phasing out Ticketfly in favor of a new ticketing platform.
Investors told a judge last Friday that they had agreed to a settlement with Eventbrite. The plaintiffs had chosen a court approval for that settlement, over a prolonged legal battle with the platform, which is currently suffering heavy financial setbacks due to the pandemic.
“Dimming prospects of any recovery, during litigation, the world was struck by the worst pandemic it suffered since 1918 – particularly bad news for a company whose business is helping customers plan their live events,” the investors reportedly told the presiding judge.
While this settlement was less than what the investors had hoped for, the future of EventBrite remains dubious as the company faced a loss of $38.6 million in revenue this year. As events get continually pushed back due to the pandemic, revenues are expected to see a downward trend.
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