Talking of London based music firms that may well be taken over in the coming months, struggling London music firm Sanctuary confirmed on Friday that it had received approaches from third parties that could lead to a takeover offer being made. The announcement saw the music company's share price soar by up to 50%.
The cross-sector Sanctuary Group continues to struggle following the acute financial situation that came to a head in 2005 after a period of rapid growth, and the accusations of financial mis-reporting that followed in 2006, all of which led to a radical downsizing and overhaul of the company, and the removal of CEO and co-founder Andy Taylor.
As previously reported, last year the Channelfly owning MAMA Group, another London based music firm that operates across different music business sectors, made an all-share takeover proposal that was turned down by Sanctuary's board.
Details of the latest takeover approach - including who has made it and what kind of deal they are proposing - are unclear. The company simply told investors on Friday that: "The company confirms that it has received approaches from third parties that may or may not lead to an offer for the company".
Interestingly, given our last story, the Sanctuary Group is another asset that Warner chief Edgar Bronfman Jr has considered bidding for in a bid to expand his Warner Music empire, though it isn't thought that they are involved in this latest Sanctuary takeover approach. Meanwhile, in related news, word has it that Rough Trade boss Geoff Travis is trying to raise the funds to buy Sanctuary out of his record company, a move that, if successful, would stop the Beggars Group from getting a share of the West London indie. As previously reported, Beggars are meant to be someway into negotiations with Sanctuary to buy their 49% share of Rough Trade.