EMI sold to Universal and Sony for $4.1B in two-part deal

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EMI sold to Universal and Sony for $4.1B in two-part deal

The Associated Press Published Friday, November 11, 2011 11:44AM EST

In this undated file photograph British pop band The Beatles, John Lennon (left) Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and George Harrison (right) pose for a photograph. Apple Inc. said Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2010, its iTunes service will sell music from the Fab Four. (AP)

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LOS ANGELES - EMI Group Ltd., home of The Beatles and Coldplay, has been sold in two parts for US$4.1 billion.

Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group said Friday that it has agreed to buy the recording division of EMI for 1.2 billion pounds ($1.9 billion).

The second part, the publishing division in charge of songwriting copyrights, was sold to Sony/ATV, for $2.2 billion. That's according to a person familiar with the matter.

A second person says the deal leaves Citigroup, EMI's owner, with liability for a pension plan worth about $600 million.

Both people were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Citigroup had put the iconic British music company up for sale after foreclosing on private equity firm Terra Firma in February.

Terra Firma bought EMI in 2007 in a 4.2 billion-pound ($6.8 billion) acquisition financed with debt from U.S. bank Citigroup, but it couldn't make enough money to keep up with the terms of its debt.

EMI Group has Canadian operations with a roster of musicians that include Nickelback and Tom Cochrane.