Post by news agent on Jul 18, 2004 16:11:10 GMT 10
www.undercover.com.au/news/2004/july2004/20040717_bmg.html
"Sony BMG Merger Expected This Week
The green light for the Sony BMG merger is expected on Tuesday with both sides saying they expect their restructure to be mostly completed by June 2005.
The formal go-ahead for the merger will be announced in Brussels on Tuesday with 85% of cutbacks done by mid-next year. 25% of the workforce or up to 3,000 people are expected to lose their jobs as part of the merger.
$US300 million has been allocated for employee severance pay. That reorganization will start by the end of next week.
Under the new structure, the head of the newly named Sony BMG will be BMG's Rolf Schmidt-Holtz. Other board members in the 50:50 venture will be Gunter Thielen, Bertelsmann chairman and chief executive, Sir Howard Stringer, chairman of Sony Corporation of America, Andy Lack, Sony Music chief executive who will also be chief executive of Sony BMG; Siegfried Luther, Bertelsmann finance director; and an additional Sony executive.
The company is expected to have a 25.1% market share (based on last years figures) putting it in front of current leader Universal with 23.5%
EMI Music has a current market share of 13.4% and Warner Music is at 12.7%.
EMI and Warner have had two failed attempts to merge but with the Sony BMG merger getting the approval from both the European and American markets, it is expected merger talks will again soon recommence.
A combined Warner EMI in the current environment would be even bigger than Sony BMG.
BMG current have albums by Shannon Noll, Usher, Avril Lavigne, Outkast, Dido, Britney Spears, Amici Forever, Velvet Revolver, Nikki Webster and Maroon 5 in the chart. Sony have Pete Murray, Anastacia, Evanescence, Jessica Simpson, Katie Melua, Gretchen Wilson, Spider-Man 2, Franz Ferdinand, Cyndi Lauper and George Michael. In the Australian market currently, the two companies combined have 40% of the albums in the Top 50."
"Sony BMG Merger Expected This Week
The green light for the Sony BMG merger is expected on Tuesday with both sides saying they expect their restructure to be mostly completed by June 2005.
The formal go-ahead for the merger will be announced in Brussels on Tuesday with 85% of cutbacks done by mid-next year. 25% of the workforce or up to 3,000 people are expected to lose their jobs as part of the merger.
$US300 million has been allocated for employee severance pay. That reorganization will start by the end of next week.
Under the new structure, the head of the newly named Sony BMG will be BMG's Rolf Schmidt-Holtz. Other board members in the 50:50 venture will be Gunter Thielen, Bertelsmann chairman and chief executive, Sir Howard Stringer, chairman of Sony Corporation of America, Andy Lack, Sony Music chief executive who will also be chief executive of Sony BMG; Siegfried Luther, Bertelsmann finance director; and an additional Sony executive.
The company is expected to have a 25.1% market share (based on last years figures) putting it in front of current leader Universal with 23.5%
EMI Music has a current market share of 13.4% and Warner Music is at 12.7%.
EMI and Warner have had two failed attempts to merge but with the Sony BMG merger getting the approval from both the European and American markets, it is expected merger talks will again soon recommence.
A combined Warner EMI in the current environment would be even bigger than Sony BMG.
BMG current have albums by Shannon Noll, Usher, Avril Lavigne, Outkast, Dido, Britney Spears, Amici Forever, Velvet Revolver, Nikki Webster and Maroon 5 in the chart. Sony have Pete Murray, Anastacia, Evanescence, Jessica Simpson, Katie Melua, Gretchen Wilson, Spider-Man 2, Franz Ferdinand, Cyndi Lauper and George Michael. In the Australian market currently, the two companies combined have 40% of the albums in the Top 50."
