We're always open to rumour.

The line does have a nice ring to it....sounds a bit like an old song on a silver label......

the rumour is that BMG have decided music stinks and they would like to sell off their 50% stake in Sony and get back to publishing, which they do best.
The Germans do not like the Japanese.
They don't like Howard S.
Poor Timmy B is walking into a hornet's nest of asps and vipers.

so how far away from major changes are we?

I don't believe there will be decision very soon.

But it's likely that Bertelmann gets out of Sony BMG.

In their new business report for 2005 there is a big story about BMG Music Publishing (the biggest "independent" publisher in the world), with pictures of Coldplay & Robbie Williams and more artists on different labels, but almost nothing about Sony BMG, apart from stupid slogans by Schmidt-Holz: Music is passion ...

disillusioned with music.
They needed Clive Calder more than they realised.

... but they didn't get calder who left after the buy-out.

JK, do you know anything about the sell-option calder got out of BMG when he sold 20 per cent of the label in the 90s?

Normally the bigger partner gets an buy-option in this kind of label deals.

Sony and Bertelsmann May Alter Venture
By RICHARD SIKLOS
and ANDREW ROSS SORKIN
The German media conglomerate Bertelsmann has initiated talks with the Sony Corporation about altering the companies' joint venture in the music business and perhaps selling Bertelsmann's half to Sony or another party, according to two people close to the venture.

Executives from both companies are expected to meet as soon as this week to discuss proposals to alter their partnership, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, which was formed two years ago and is now the world's second-largest music company by market share. The people close to Sony BMG, which is based in New York, stressed that the discussions were preliminary and that any agreement to change the structure of the joint venture would probably take months to conclude.

Sony is unlikely to be interested in buying Bertelsmann's 50-percent interest outright, these people said, although it may be open to acquiring clear control of the venture either on its own or in partnership with private equity backers. Sony similarly enlisted private equity firms to help it buy the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie studio in 2004.

Bertelsmann may also be exploring ways to raise money by leveraging some of its media assets, including its half of Sony BMG, but it is unclear on what basis that would be permissible under the terms of the partnership. A Sony spokeswoman, Ann Morfogen, said the terms of the joint venture were confidential and declined to comment. A Bertelsmann spokeswoman did not return calls seeking comment.

The talks come as Bertelsmann is under pressure to respond to demands from a minority shareholder, the Brussels-based Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, to either buy back its 25.1 percent interest or take the company public. The Belgian company is expected to formally exercise its option to take the company public as soon as May. The remainder of Bertelsmann is owned by its founding family, whose patriarch, Reinhard Mohn, is determined to keep the company private.

Company executives said last week that they would explore selling assets like the stake in Sony BMG and its separate music publishing business to raise money to buy out the minority stake.

In a recent report, Goldman Sachs valued Bertelsmann's half-share in Sony BMG and its music publishing unit at 1.6 billion euros ($1.93 billion).

Bertelsmann's interest in changing or ending the joint venture with Sony comes as something of a turnabout. The company had engaged in a months-long campaign to oust the venture's chief executive, Andrew Lack, who had come from the Sony side.

Revenues at Sony BMG fell 16.5 percent in 2005, reflecting both the turmoil in the recorded music industry and the infighting at Sony BMG. Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, a Bertelsmann executive, became chief executive of Sony BMG last month. His appointment was the result of a compromise between Gunther Thielen, Bertelsmann's chief executive, and his counterpart at Sony, Sir Howard Stringer. Under their existing arrangement, both companies have equal representation on Sony BMG's governing board.

Jeff Leeds contributed reporting for this article.

nm

The deal gave Clive the option to sell the remainder of his firm - at a time to be decided by him.

The price was decided by a formula that took into account the sales etc over a set period immediately before the buy-out was triggered.

Clive triggered this buy-out just after the label had had a phenomenal sales period with Britney, Backstreet Boys and N Sync - so got a very good price indeed for the remainder of Jive.

They paid 2,74 billion Dollar (net just over 2 billion). (And BMG already owned 20 % of the label, 25 % of the publishing)

Today their 50 % of Sony BMG is valued at 1,6 billion.

Not sure really (it's called a reverse buy-out btw) - perhaps they thought that all that would happen is that he'd come back again later and ask to sell them a bit more of the company?

Instead he came back and made they buy it all (at a price determined by their - then - sales figures)!

Just shows .... something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.