JEAN-RENÉ Fourtou, chairman of Vivendi, has taken charge of Universal Music’s bid for EMI’s record labels in an attempt to persuade European regulators not to block the £1.2 billion (€1.5 billion) deal or demand costly concessions.
Universal’s French parent has markedly changed its approach since last month’s abrupt exit of Jean-Bernard Lévy, Vivendi’s chief executive, said people familiar with the bid process.
Mr Fourtou wanted to show that Universal was willing to make concessions to quell fears the deal could harm smaller labels and crush digital music innovation, rather than challenging every argument from the European Commission, they said.
The new tone makes it less likely Vivendi will sell or spin off Universal Music.
The commission has objected to the deal, arguing Universal already extracts higher prices from digital distributors as the world’s largest recorded music company and could push prices up if it owned EMI.Universal has filed a confidential response, but has turned down the option of pressing its case in hearings before officials. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2012
