AEG Live bought New York-based concert promoters the Bowery Presents last year, and today the company made its first public comment about the acquisition. AEG’s chairman, Jay Marciano, told The New York Times that the Bowery Presents acquisition is a part of the massive company’s expansion plans.

The deal for half of Bowery Presents is estimated at around $40 million, and AEG now has a hand in venues like Terminal 5 and Music Hall Of Williamsburg, among a few others. However, the deal did not hand over two of the most famous clubs promoted by Bowery Presents: Mercury Lounge and the Bowery Ballroom. The negotiations excluded those venues due to the fact that Michael Swier, who founded the Bowery Presents and later left, still owns both. Marciano told the Times that AEG and Swier have yet to discuss a deal, although it seems almost inevitable that a deal will eventually be struck, considering how vital those venues are to the Bowery Presents’ operations. If not … well, at least AEG bagged the “Worst Concert Venue Ever. PERIOD.“