Sony Corporation has reportedly secured financing from Abu Dhabi’s investment fund, Mubadala, to help compete for British music label EMI Group.
The Middle Eastern investment funds’ backing, and additional financial support from media investment bank Raine, will assist Sony to better compete with the other bidders which are said to include Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group.
Second-round bids at auction came in at between $3.5bn and $4bn, according to sources close to the process. The present owner of the label is Citigroup which had been forced to take over EMI Group after the previous owners were unable to pay their debt.
Private equity fund Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and BMG jointly are currently seen as the front runners for EMI Music Publishing while Warner Music is said to be leading the race for EMI’s recorded music assets.
