Private equity cues up EMI purchase

by Stephen Withers

Wednesday, 23 May 2007

EMI, the first major music company to offer digital downloads from an extensive catalogue without DRM, could be heading into private hands.

EMI directors have recommended shareholders accept a 265 pence per share offer from a company formed by private equity investors Terra Firma Capital Partners. The offer values the company at £3.2 billion.

A takeover of the company has been expected for around a year.

Last month, EMI announced that its catalogue would be made available to online retailers in high-quality, DRM-free versions. Apple's iTunes Store was the first to take up the opportunity.

Terra Firma CEO Guy Hands said "Terra Firma's objective is to build on EMI's current position as one of the world’s leading music companies and accelerate the development of its digital and online strategy to fully exploit this long-term growth opportunity."

A joint statement issued by the two companies said "Terra Firma also believes there is an opportunity for EMI to capture a larger portion of the music value chain over time in both recorded music and music publishing," suggesting the new owners do not intend to on-sell either division.

There is no indication of whether or not the new owners will continue EMI's DRM-free experiment.

Around 1300 artists are signed with EMI Music, including Lily Allen, The Beach Boys, Nick Cave, Coldplay, Duran Duran, Missy Higgins, Iron Maiden, Janet Jackson. Wynton Marsalis, Moby, Pink Floyd, Queen, Cliff Richard, The Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, Keith Urban, and Robbie Williams. The combined catalogue contains over three million tracks.

In recent years, Terra Firma has acquired a wide variety of businesses, including German motorway service operator Autobahn Tank & Rast, cinema chains Odeon and UCI, waste recycler WRG, and gas supplier East Surrey Holdings.{moscomment}

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