The BBC reports that EMI Group has agreed to be bought by private equity firm Terra Firma for 卢拢3.2bn including debt, which is around US$6.3B. The deal isn’t confirmed yet, because it is subject to shareholder approval. As BBC noted, EMI’s sales have been in decline of late – the company reported a 卢拢260m loss in the past year. But interesting to note that EMI chairman John Gildersleeve listed EMI’s digital and online strategy as a major reason to sell, because the cash injection will “accelerate the development of its digital and online strategy to fully exploit this long-term growth opportunity”.
You’ll recall that EMI announced a compelling DRM-free offering in early April, a move backed by Apple. I have met a few EMI people at past Web 2.0 conferences and I know they have a great deal of interest in web-enabling their music catalog. So EMI’s moves in the digital and online arenas are positive. However I should also note that Coldplay’s latest CD, X&Y, has been the only CD I haven’t been able to put into my iTunes collection recently! And Coldplay are one of EMI’s biggest acts (under their Capitol Records label). So there’s still room for improvement 馃槈
In any case, let’s hope EMI’s digital drive continues under their new owners. As yet there is little sign of the other big record companies offering DRM-free music, so EMI has been a leader alongside Apple on that front – and for that reason, I’d hate to see them go under.