Let’s buy EMI: overtures
p2pnet.net news:- EMI shares are up, “following confirmation that it had received a number of takeover approaches,” says the Financial Times.
The, “overtures are at least the fourth round of potential bids in the past year,” says Bloomberg News. “EMI, with a market value of 1.82 billion pounds ($3.62 billion) before today’s gain, rejected a 2.1 billion-pound proposal from Warner Music Group Inc. in March, and ended talks with buyout firm Permira Advisers LLP in December.”
Warner and EMI dropped efforts to merge in 2000, “after regulators opposed the plan,” says the story. “EMI’s attempt to buy Bertelsmann AG’s BMG unit in 2001 was also stymied by regulators. EMI again failed to combine with Warner in 2003, when a group led by Bronfman won the bidding for Time Warner Inc.’s music unit.”
The story goes on that last June, “Warner and EMI offered about $4.6 billion for each other before withdrawing the bids on concern a combination would be blocked by European Union regulators. The European Court of First Instance in Luxembourg on July 13 threw out EU regulators’ approval of the merger that created Sony BMG Music Entertainment in 2004. Warner offered 320 pence a share for EMI in June.”
That the Sony BMG combination is still subject to European Union approval, “really clouded the landscape,” Bloomberg has eqity manager Henk Potts saying.
“Until we get a resolution to that issue it will be difficult for EMI and Warner to go ahead. While they are waiting investors may get impatient and put pressure on the board to look elsewhere.”
EMI is a one of the Big 4 record labels whose current marketing strategy includes efforts to use international copyright regulations to bring customers into product acquisition compliency.
The other labels are: Vivendi Universal (France), Sony BMG (Japan and Germany) and Warner Music (US)
Also See:
Financial Times – Media frenzy sends London shares higher, May 4, 2007
Bloomberg News – EMI Says Company Has Received Takeover Approaches, May 4, 2007
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May 4th, 2007 at 10:23 am
these types of mergers multiple times in the past. So why do these companies NOT *get* the _CLUE_???
GREED! That’$ why.
May 4th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
Say goodbye to the non-drm’d EMI tracks the moment this ever happens.