November 24, 2003
Quickly Becoming an Industry Watchdog Blog
Posted by nerdling | November 24, 2003 11:24 AM
Time Warner just sold off part of the "Warner" bit (from reuters.com):
Time Warner Inc. on Monday said it sold its Warner Music business to a group led by media mogul Edgar Bronfman Jr. for $2.6 billion, in a move to trim the media group's debts and signaling a return of the former Seagram chairman to the music business.
The Bronfman group beat out a bid by EMI for the recorded music portion of the business Group for an estimated $1 billion. By choosing the Bronfman bid, Time Warner company is forsaking $250 million to $300 million in cost savings it could have realized by combining with EMI.
On the other hand, Time Warner is getting more cash up front by selling the entire business, which includes the music publishing company, and will have an easier path to regulatory approval. In the past, European and U.S. regulators have frowned on consolidation within the music business.
Wheeee! More businessmen fucking things up!
