Rumours are rife that Bertelsmann are considering selling their 50% stake in SonyBMG, though such rumours have been rife before. These rumours come from the Financial Times Deutschland, who are reporting that the German media conglom's CFO, Thomas Rabe, has met with at least two private equity outfits recently to discuss a possible sale.
There was much speculation that Bertelsmann would sell their share of the record company when they needed to raise funds to buy out a minority shareholder back in 2006, but in the end they sold off their music publishing company, which was never part of the SonyBMG joint venture with Sony Corp. But analysts are now pointing out that the 2004 JV agreement that binds Sony and BMG together with SonyBMG expires in August 2009, and that a sale of BMG's half of the company would be easier after that date. The private equity talks, some are saying, are prepping a quick sale after the JV agreement expires.
The FT says that Bertelsmann are considering selling both its SonyBMG stake and its book club and retail division Direct Group. The media conglom themselves have refused to comment on the rumours.