Bertelsmann may sell stake in Sony

FRANKFURT: German media group Bertelsmann is considering selling a part of its 50% stake in Sony BMG, the music recording company it jointly owns with Sony, a source familiar with the situation said.

“It is basically half now, and half later,” the source said on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Any changes to the ownership structure would have to be approved by Sony under the terms of the joint venture, another source familiar with the situation said.

Sony chief executive Howard Stringer said last month, the future ownership of Sony BMG would be determined by how Bertelsmann decides to repay the debts it took on to buy out a minority shareholder in the German med
ia group.

Bertelsmann agreed at the end of May to pay Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) E4.5bn ($5.8bn) for its 25% stake in the world’s fourth-largest media group.

To raise money for the GBL buyout, Bertelsmann has said it is selling its BMG Music Publishing business, which owns copyrights to thousands of songs, including those by Coldplay and Nelly.

Industry executives expect the sale to fetch at least 1.5bn euros.

But Bertelsmann Chief Executive Gunter Thielen has repeatedly ruled out any restructuring of Sony BMG, despite media reports to the contrary.

A Bertelsmann spokesman referred to an interview given earlier this week by the company’s chief financial officer, Thomas Rabe, to a German newspaper in which he said the company aimed to financially optimise its holding in Sony BMG but was not considering a disposal. Sony declined to comment.