KKR and Bertelsmann, what are they up to?
Gordon Gekko: is the sequel already in play?
On the heels of private equity powerhouse Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) and Bertelsmann AG getting EU approval for their new music rights venture, industry insiders share that the new unit is in deep discussions with Terra Firma concerning the sale of EMI Music Publishing. Terra Firma has reportedly been in talks with several third parties in an effort to raise additional capital to address EMI’s debt with Citigroup. The new KKR-Bertelsmann venture, which includes Bertelsmann’s BMG Rights Management music unit, is obviously armed with heavy capitol and resources through KKR to make such an acquisition. And considering Terra Firma’s dire position with EMI, the new unit is positioned to make a swift purchase which is KKR’s modus operandi (hey, we saw Barbarians at the Gate). This is not the first time that KKR has surfaced in the news concerning EMI. The private equity firm was rumored to be an early suitor of EMI Music Group prior to Terra Firma’s purchase. For those of you following, you may recall that Bertelsmann sold its BMG Music Publishing unit to Universal Music in 2006 for a reported $ 2.1 billion and sold their 50% stake in Sony-BMG Music to Sony Corp. in August 2008. Stay tuned…
March 26th, 2010 at 11:18 am
[...] Universal Music followed up with a denial that it was speaking with the music company, while as rumored Bertelsmann and KKR’s BMG Rights Management expressed that it is indeed interested in [...]
July 8th, 2010 at 11:13 am
[...] the latter being their largest acquisition to date. Speculation of the company’s interest in EMI Music Publishing has continued to varying degrees for nearly as long as the new entity has existed, but with Terra [...]