There are no longer four major companies in the music world. The infamous EMI Group has been sold off to both Universal Music Group and Sony Corp for a combined to $4.1 billion earlier today. This is about 8% more than what Citigroup had initially asked for. Citigroup took over EMI earlier this year because of Terra Firma, a British private equity firm, didn't lead the company out of debt. That also cost them a major loss, such as The Rolling Stones parting ways with the company.
So how did this deal go down exactly? Universal bought EMI's recorded music for $1.9 billion. Sony bought the publishing division for $2.2 billion. The publishing division sold for a bit more because it's considered more profitable than the recorded music. Since EMI is London based, antitrust regulators in both the U.S. and Europe have to go over this deal before approving it. A few famous artists part of EMI include Coldplay, Pink Floyd, Katy Perry as well as it being the home to The Beatles.
What does this mean for fans? Music is going to be tougher to find because now there are going to be three major companies, Universal Music Group, Sony Corp, and Warner Music Group, controlling the popular tunes.
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