BMG eyes India -
Even as the European Commission launches a full-scale investigation into the proposed merger of Germany’s Bertelsmann AG and Japan’s Sony Corp global recorded music businesses, BMG is contemplating the market in India.
“If the group is committed to over $800 million worth of investments in China over a period of two years or so, India could get an even larger chunk, the Indian Financial Express quotes BMG chairman and ceo Gunter Thielen as saying here.
“We could be bigger here (India)” and “Publishing, TV content and business process outsourcing (BPO) are among the areas that the German group is bullish on,” says the newspaper, continuing:.
“Although he did not give out any investment projections for India, Mr Thielen’s open interaction with the media was in sharp contrast to another media major who was in the country just a day ago. Time Warner chairman and CEO Richard Parsons, who was on his first visit to the country early this week, was surrounded by ‘corporate security’ and refused any kind of media interaction.
But, “Even as the Bertelsmann chairman said that the group is ‘looking at opportunities in all areas’, music is ruled out for the time being. Mr Thielen indicated that until piracy is reduced in the music industry, it’s a loss-making proposition. French media group Vivendi Universal had also expressed a similar view earlier.”
