EMI in Talks for AOL’s Warner Label
British music giant EMI Group said it had begun formal nonexclusive talks to buy AOL Time Warner Inc.’s recorded-music division.
EMI is proposing to absorb the Warner Music operation and provide AOL with a 25% stake in the combined venture plus as much as $1 billion in cash, sources said.
AOL is also expected to continue at least sporadic talks to merge its music business with Bertelsmann’s BMG unit.
The official announcement of the AOL-EMI talks prompted investor service Standard & Poor’s to place the London-based company’s debt rating on a credit watch, citing the “uncertainty over the capital structure” of any potential deal.
-- Jeff Leeds
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