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Warner to start considering bids this week

By | Published on Monday 21 February 2011

Warner Music Group

Management at Warner Music will reportedly start accepting formal offers for some or all of the music major this week. As previously reported, over 20 parties have apparently approached bankers Goldman Sachs who were brought in to review options for Warner’s current shareholders.

It is thought Warner’s current owners will consider all out takeover proposals, as well as bids for publishing firm Warner/Chappell. If the latter deal was to be done, the proceeds might be used to buy some of EMI when that is put up for sale later this year.

BMG backer KKR is still one of the favourites to bid, while the also recently acquisitive music publishing firm Imagem may also make an offer, particularly for Warner/Chappell.

Another name being tipped this weekend was Russian billionaire Len Blavatnik, whose US-based conglomerate Access Industries is already significant shareholder in the Warner Music Group. There is speculation Blavatnik might move to take complete ownership of the whole company, or of the publishing bit.



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