In the continuing effort to salvage its merger deal, EMI Group PLC and Time Warner Inc. have submitted a written plan for concessions that they hope will allow the European Union (EU) to approve the merger between the two companies, EMI announced Tuesday. The written proposal follows a meeting between EU Competition Commissioner Mario Monti and top officials at EMI and Time Warner on Monday.
In the proposal, the companies “proposed a balanced set of remedies” that are “intended to increase competition across the European music industry,” EMI said in a statement. The joint music venture between Time Warner and EMI has been valued at US$20 billion.
The concession plan proposes selling off some of its record labels and assets in music publishing, though EMI did not name any specific assets it would be willing to part with, an EMI source confirmed Wednesday.
The companies firmly believe that the EU will approve the merger, adding that Time Warner and EMI will continue discussions with the EU until the government body announce its ruling on Oct. 18, EMI said.
Officials at the EU refused to comment on the proposals though a report in the Financial Times Ltd. quotes an inside source as saying the proposals are “in the right direction.”
Time Warner, in New York, can be reached at http://www.timewarner.com/. EMI Group, in London, is at http://www.emigroup.com/.
