Rumours galore with regards the sale of Vivendi Universal's music operations. After reports earlier in the week that Apple Computers were considering making an offer for the Universal Music Group, reports in the New York Post now say Microsoft is considering making a bid. The Post said the IT major was "poking around, kicking the tyres" with regards a major record company acquisition.
However the Wall Street Journal concurrently reported that it had been Universal Music executives who had been approaching the computer firms regarding a takeover, rather than the other way round, and that the idea may not be favoured by bosses at the label's parent company back in France. The same report suggested that after some proactive buyer searching by Universal Music bigwigs following the departure of chief executive Barry Dillier last month, most at the top had now opted for a 'wait and see' approach.
However the thought of the IT giants buying into the music industry is still creating much buzz among major label execs. The New York Post reckons Apple's interest in actually acquiring Universal Music is stronger than Microsoft's - but Microsoft might be in a stronger position to actually pursue the acquisition and could well step up its interests in the next few weeks.
Elsewhere in the Universal Music empire there are rumours some major restructuring may be about to take place in its UK operations which would see more integration between its three main divisions - Polydor, Mercury and Island – which currently operate more or less autonomously. We'll let you know if we here anything.