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EC to approve Sony’s EMI takeover
The European Commission is today set to approve Sony’s £1.4bn takeover of EMI’s music publishing division. To placate competition concerns, the music giant is prepared to sell off some of EMI’s music publishing catalogues, which roll in €25m (£20.5m) a year. It was revealed late last month that Sony – which is bidding for the EMI division alongside Blackstone, Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development, Raine Group and movie mogul David Geffen – had offered divestment concessions to Brussels. Universal, which won the bid in November to buy EMI’s record label for £1.2bn, is still awaiting approval from the European Commission.