Business News Labels & Publishers

BMG appoints bankers to advise on possible Warner bid

By | Published on Wednesday 23 February 2011

Warner/Chapell

According to Sky News dude Mark Kleinman, BMG has hired the services of not one but two sets of bankers (because you can never have too many bankers) to advise it on a possible acquisition of Warner/Chappell, the music publishing business of the Warner Music Group.

BMG and its backers KKR have long been favourites to bid for some or all of Warner Music, ever since it became clear the US music major’s current owners would be taking offers.

KKR is one of the few potential bidders who commentators believe could conceivably bid for the whole of Warner, and BMG boss Hartwig Masuch has said he is interested in extending his company’s recording rights assets as well as further adding to their publishing catalogue.

Though the latest rumours seem to be that KKR/BMG will only bid for Warner/Chappell. Such a deal is believed to be preferred by Warner CEO Edgar Bronfman Junior, who would hope to use the monies raised by a sale of the publishing business to fund an acquisition of some of EMI, probably the record labels, which is also up for sale.

Sky says that both Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan are now advising BMG on how to structure and finance a Warner/Chappell bid. As previously reported, they face competition from up to twenty other bidders for the Warner publishing catalogue.



READ MORE ABOUT: | | |