EMI Agree £3bn Takeover Deal

EMI have announced that they have agreed to a takeover from private equity firm Terra Firma for £3.2bn including debt.

The music group’s business has been in a steady decline in recent years and has already been the subject of several takeover bids from Warner Music.

However, the bids from Warner were expected to be subject to much scrutinising from regulators in a similar way to the Sony and Bertelsmann’s BMG merger in 2004.

EMI, whose artists include the likes of The Beatles, Robbie Williams, Kate Bush and Sigur Ros, announced on Thursday that it had made a loss of £260m in the last year.

Analysts say that news of the deal will bring other bidders into the fray including the possibility of another bid from Warner.

Speaking about the deal EMI chairman John Gildersleeve said: "Terra Firma's offer delivers cash now, without regulatory uncertainty and with the minimum of operational risk to the company."

News of the deal sent EMI’s shares up 9% on the stock market.