The Financial Times had an astute piece today on likely purchasers of bank-owned EMI.
Aside from Warner Music, which is itself up for sale, other sniffers and snorters include equity wolves KKK, in partnership with Bertlesmann, and the German-based media magnate Haim Saban.
I am also hearing reports of contacts between Sony and Universal, which would like to break up EMI and share the bits between them.
It is hard to ascertain at this stage which option is the worst for music. None is good.
But the FT helpfully suggests that Impala, the European lobby for independent labels, is preparing to tie up any corporate bid in legal tape that will take years to unravel – a threat that ought to deter all but the most determined of purchasers.
Impala have already crashed one Sony expansion bid. More power to their elbow.
(Apparently one of the photographic models below is an impala)
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