EMI Bids $998 Mln for Part of Warner Music, Financial Mail Says

Aug. 17 (Bloomberg) -- EMI Group Plc has offered 625 million pounds ($998 million) for Warner Music's recorded music unit as part of an effort to end merger talks between Warner and Bertelsmann AG's BMG division, the Financial Mail on Sunday reported, citing unidentified people in the industry.

EMI Chairman Eric Nicoli wants to find a merger partner and Warner is his preferred choice, the paper said. He is on friendly terms with AOL Time Warner Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Dick Parsons, the paper said.

Warner and BMG have extended an exclusivity period for their negotiations, the report said. Last week the New York Post reported that if Warner and BMG reach an agreement and spin off labels, EMI may buy one or more of them.

London-based EMI, which distributes music by artists such as Coldplay and Norah Jones, has previously had to abandon plans to merge with the music businesses of Warner and Bertelsmann in the face of regulatory hurdles.

(Financial Mail on Sunday, 8-17, p. 1) (http://www.thisismoney.co.uk)