Live Nation is close to finalizing a deal to buy a 50% stake in EDM promoter Insomniac Events, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, which cited people familiar with the deal.

This information, including the speculative numbers (which valued this “about 50% stake” at $50 million), has been circulating throughout the music industry for months, with chatter peaking since Live Nation rival SFX Entertainment initially got in bed with Insomniac rival ID&T in January, eventually acquiring 75% of the Tomorrowland promoter (which was valued at $130 million total) in March. The first U.S. edition of the hit Belgian festival, dubbed TomorrowWorld, is set for September 27-29 in Atlanta.

Last May, Live Nation acquired Cream Holdings Limited, a pillar of the EDM entertainment scene, which also gave Live Nation the exclusive rights to Creamfields Festivals, which have been held all over the world since the company’s launch in 1998.

In the past several weeks, Insomniac CEO Pasquale Rotella has reportedly been spotted with Live Nation president/CEO Michael Rapino at several events in Los Angeles. Hard Events — founded by Gary Richards, who sold the company to Live Nation last year, and joined its full-time team — will have a stage at Insomniac’s Electric Daisy Carnival this year, a lineup announced on May 1 revealed.

Insomniac announced on May 29 that tickets to EDC, its marquis event at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on June 21-23, had sold out. The festival’s three-day capacity is 345,000. [Billboard.biz]