Vivendi Is Buying BMG, Settles With Napster

Vivendi to buy BMG, settles Napster claims
By Reuters, Sept 6

Vivendi's Universal Music, the world's largest seller of recorded music, is vaulting to the top spot in music publishing, too, after agreeing to buy BMG Music Publishing for 1.63 billion euros ($2.1 billion). German media conglomerate Bertelsmann, BMG Music Publishing's parent company, also said on Wednesday it would pay Vivendi $60 million to settle litigation related to financing it once provided to file-sharing service Napster. Vivendi, the French media and telecommunications group, topped offers from six other bidders for BMG Music Publishing, which owns the rights to thousands of songs, including ones by Coldplay, Christina Aguilera and Barry Manilow. It had been seen as a frontrunner in the auction since it was tipped off that Bertelsmann would sell BMG earlier this year. Other bidders included Warner Music Group and a team that included media conglomerate Viacom and private equity firm Apollo, sources familiar with the situation said. Publishers have been increasingly coveted by investors because they are partly shielded by many of the piracy issues that have rattled the music industry. In addition to generating revenue when CDs or downloads are sold, music publishers make money by licensing songs to be performed live and for use in films and television shows. ...read more: HERE

9/06/2006 08:22:00 AM

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