Well we said to expect more movements on the EMI Warner front, though we weren't necessarily expecting these kinds of moves. Reports now suggest that London based EMI will today announce that it is putting its ambitions to acquire the Warner Music Group on hold, for the time being at least.
Of course, EMI have been interested in taking over the New York based Warner Music for a while now, and have made two bids for the record company in recent months. But, while insiders reckoned Warner Music's owners would eventually sell, if EMI could be persuaded to offer the right price, the current Warner board countered the EMI bids by making their own bid to acquire the London record company - with some reports suggesting that many in the investment community thought Warners' bid for EMI was a more sound proposal.
If EMI have decided to put off their Warner takeover plans it might be because they genuinely believe that the price Warners' owners are demanding is simply too high to make the deal viable. Though, of course, the decision might be more to do with the recent ruling in the EU courts that said the European Commission should not have allowed Sony and BMG to merge two years ago.
Although EMI chief Eric Nicoli initially said he didn't think that that ruling would affect the chances of an EMI Warner deal being approved by European competition officials, many disagree with him - with some saying it would be very unwise for EMI and Warner to attempt a merger before the European Commission completes its review of the Sony BMG merger proposition.