Warner Music & Blavatnik Continue To Pursue EMI As Regulators Review Vivendi Deal

Warner Music Group and its billionaire owner Len Blavatnik continue to pursue the purchase of EMI’s recorded music division even as a sale to Vivendi Universal is being reviewed by regulators, according to multiple sources. EU indie trade group IMPALA and others are vigorously opposing the sale which it believes would make Vivendi's Universal, already the world's largest recorded musical group, much too powerful. But Team Warners is apparently not just waiting to see if regulators squash the EMI/UMG deal.

Blavatnik is aggressively lobbying regulators at the European Commission and U.S. Federal Trade Commission to reject the deal outright or at least require so many concessions that Universal will drop their bid.  At the same time, the billionaire is making it clear to EMI and owner Citigroup that he's ready to pick up the pieces, according to Bloomberg.

The European Commission has set a deadline of March 23rd to rule on the EMI deal. Universal Music has said it is “confident of securing clearance.”