LONDON (VIP NEWS) — BMG Rights Management has won the auction to acquire Sanctuary, the rock label that was included in the assets that the Universal Music Group agreed to sell in order to win regulatory approval from the EU for its purchase of EMI Recorded Music.
According to sources, BMG Rights has agreed to pay nearly £40 million for the label, which sources said last year produced earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortization of about £4.5 million on revenues of £8.1 million.
This marks the second property that BMG has picked up from the assets UMG had to divest. Earlier it purchased Mute Records for about £7 million.
Last week, the Warner Music Group agreed to purchase the crown jewel of the divested assets, agreeing to pay £487 million for Parlophone. Still on the block are EMI’s European share of the Now compilation series and Co-op, the indie marketing company.
In total, UMG has raised almost £534 million, which means that it has paid about £666 million for the EMI recorded music it still retains, including the Beatles, Capitol Records, Virgin, Caroline, Astralwerks, Blue Note and the Christian Music Group. –According to Billboard.com
