EMI Group Receives Preliminary Takeover Approach

In a statement today, British music company EMI Group Plc said it received a preliminary approach for the Company which may or may not lead to an offer being made. One newspaper said the deal could be worth $4.8 billion.

Shares of EMI jumped 10% in overseas trading after making the statement on the approach.

The Financial Times reported that private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and Goldman Sachs were among the bidders. KKR denied they were involved.

The latest reports suggested that private equity firm Permira made the preliminary approach to EMI.

Earlier in the year, EMI Group Plc and rival Warner Music Group (NYSE: WMG) backed off offers for each other after a European court ruling overturned regulatory clearance of the Sony Music and BMG merger.