US Warner Music Group has bid €3.6 billion for Britain's EMI Group in an attempt to take control of the company that has been pursuing it, the Financial Timessaid today.
EMI was not immediately available for comment.
On May 3rd Warner Music, the world's fourth largest music company and home to Green Day and Red Hot Chilli Peppers, rejected a €3.34-billion takeover approach from its larger rival EMI, the latest move in a long-running quest to combine the companies.
EMI, whose artists include Coldplay and Robbie Williams, said at the time that buying Warner Music would be a good deal for both companies' shareholders.
A combined EMI-Warner Music would be roughly on par with music majors Universal Music and Sony-BMG, and analysts estimate a merger would produce several hundred million pounds in cost savings. However, EMI and Warner Music have tried to combine several times before without success.
On May 23rd EMI reported annual results which included a surge in digital music sales to €162 million from €68 million.
The music industry expects revenues from mobile phones and song downloads eventually to offset the continued decline in physical formats like CDs.