Report: CitiGroup Asking Select EMI Bidders For 'Best Offer'

Sale Getting Closer?

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES reports, "EMI MUSIC's owner, CITIGROUP, has asked a select group of bidders to submit their best offers for the storied British music company by OCTOBER 5th, according to executives familiar with the auction. The bank, which took over EMI in FEBRUARY and formally put the company up for sale in JUNE, has been entertaining preliminary bids from private equity firms, such as PLATINUM EQUITY, as well as other music companies, including WARNER MUSIC GROUP, SONY CORP., BMG CHRYSALIS and UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP."

Numerous names have been associated with an EMI bid, with ALL ACCESS reporting last week that music entrepreneur SEAN PARKER, a co-founder of music file-sharing service NAPSTER, and billionaire investor RON BURKLE have teamed up again and are considering making a bid for music label EMI (NET NEWS 9/23).

In AUGUST (NET NEWS 8/31), those reportedly kicking EMI's tires include the other major-label groups (VIVENDI's UMG, ACCESS INDUSTRIES' WMG, SONY), as well as BERTELSMANN AG and CPP INVESTMENT BOARD.

EMI is expected to be sold before the end of the year, making it the second major music company to be sold in 2011, following the purchase of WARNER MUSIC GROUP by ACCESS INDUSTRIES.

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