Mip chats up News' interest in EMI
Rumors of takeover strengthen
Murmurs about such a deal routinely surface in Stateside offices of EMI execs and competing music congloms, but making its way across the Atlantic seems to have lent it additional weight.
While the acquisition of EMI would be a good fit for News Corp. -- whose vast holdings of film, TV and broadcasting assets lack a strong music component -- EMI's rising stock price has made the company less of a bargain than it was at the time, less than a year ago, when Seagram first kicked EMI's tires.
Seagram eventually plunked down $10.4 billion for Polygram.
News Corp. has already confessed to looking at EMI, but so has Bertlesmann, the parent of BMG Entertainment, which recently concluded that the nearly $10 billion market value of EMI was too rich for its blood.
Still, EMI has the world's largest music publishing operation, and its domestic music operation is turning around after more than a year of turmoil -- for the fiscal year ended March 31 it will post some of its best numbers in recent history.
Murdoch's son James, who started a small music company and eventually sold it to News Corp., is one of the News Corp. execs charged with studying EMI. Insiders say the final decision on whether to go after the music company will be made by his father, of course.
What could trigger such a decision would be the appearance of another bidder, insiders suggest. But News Corp. has plenty of cash to help finance an acquisition.
EMI's recently hired chairman, Eric Nicoli, the former chairman of U.K.'s United Biscuits, has widely denied he's been brought aboard to prep the company for a sale.
But EMI is a publicly traded company, and a takeover can be launched by anyone with the cash.
"EMI is not in discussions with News Corp. or anyone else about the sale of the company," an EMI spokeswoman said.
But Murdoch has never shown any aversion to overpaying for an asset that adds value to his corporate portfolio. Just look at what he's done lately with the Los Angeles Dodgers, which he purchased a last year for $311 million: Murdoch signed pitcher Kevin Brown to a $105 million deal while millions more have been earmarked for renovating Dodger Stadium or building a new one.
