The HMV Group is getting out of Australia pronto by selling its 32 store mini-empire there to a company called Brazin Ltd. That said, the new owners plan to keep those stores branded as HMV for the time being, so the punter on the (Aussie) street is unlikely to notice.
The $4 million deal sees Brazin extend its grip on music retail in Australia - they already own the Sanity and Virgin music chains in the country.
Confirming the deal, Brazin boss Greg Milne told reporters: "HMV are experts at running large footprint entertainment stores and we look forward to having HMV management complementing the skills of Sanity/Virgin." HMV's commercial director, Peter Smith, will stay on to help integrate the business into the Brazin empire.