EMI Said to Be in Talks to Buy Warner Music
EMI Group is seeking to acquire Warner Music Group in a deal whose value could exceed $5 billion, executives familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday.
Talks between EMI and Warner, the third-largest record company, have been taking place on and off for years.
London-based EMI attempted to purchase Warner Music from then-parent Time Warner Inc. in 2003 but was edged out by a group of investors led by Edgar Bronfman Jr., Warner Music’s current chairman.
In 2000, a proposed EMI-Warner Music merger was derailed by European regulators who feared that the combination would prove too powerful.
EMI and Warner representatives declined to comment on the latest talks.
Sources close to the negotiations warned that they were preliminary and could still fall through, and that Warner Music could solicit other buyers.
EMI owns the Capitol and Virgin labels. Warner labels include Atlantic and Warner Bros.
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