EMI Group, one of the “Big Four” record labels, has accepted a takeover offer from a newly formed corporation known as Terra Firma.
Note: This is an article I wrote that was published elsewhere first. It has been republished here for archival purposes
Regulatory laws may have had something to say about previous takeover offers from Warner and Sony BMG (two other “Big Four” record labels.)
The deal was reached when Terra Firma offered the money upfront and promised no problems with European Union regulators. Rumours say that Terra will eventually sell the record company to Warner as time goes on as regulators are still examining the Warner and EMI deal.
EMI has been seen as a forward-thinking record company lately. At first, it was the launch of DRM-free music. Another announcement that had brought smiles to many faces was the deal between Amazon.com and EMI to sell DRM-free music.
Now it seems the ownership is going to change hands. The deal is valued at 3.2 Billion pounds (4.7 billion USD). Warner has said that it may not need to propose a counter-offer. While EMI’s shareholders must approve the deal, reports indicate that if EMI pulls out of the deal at this point, EMI would be penalized 24 million pounds.
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Google+.
