Following on from the news earlier this week that Warner had knocked back a takeover offer from EMI, speculation is now rife as to ongoing negotiations between the two major record companies regarding some kind of merger.
The consensus is that Warner's primary objection to EMI's offer was price point, leading to gossip that much bartering is now taking place. We hear EMI are probably willing to go up to $30 a share (their offer at the start of the week was $28.50), but the LA Times reports that Warner's investors will hold out for $32-$35 a share.
Another possible stumbling block is how exactly the shares are paid for. EMI's original offer was a combination of cash and stock in the merged company, but insiders say that Edgar Bronfman Jnr's investment buddies, who own significant stakes in Warner, aren't especially interested in holding any shares in EMI, nor a merged EMI Warner. Persuading them otherwise would probably require giving Bronfman an influential role at the merged record company - but following the debacle caused in SonyBMG's boardroom as former Sony and Bertelsmann chiefs fought for power, it is unlikely EMI would want to create a similar power struggle in its own boardroom by including too many big egos around the table.
Meanwhile, HitsDailyDouble report that, if an EMI takeover does go ahead along the lines that is currently being gossiped about, Bronfman stands to make $300-$400 million while his right hand man Lyor Cohen could pocket $60-$100 million. Which is nice. For them.