(WireImage)
Universal Music Group is in talks to hire Allen & Co. and Goldman Sachs as bankers to help it shop $245 million worth of European assets, The Post has learned.
The world’s biggest record company, which last year struck a $1.9 billion deal to buy storied UK rival EMI, is hoping the divestitures will win approval from European regulators, who are demanding major concessions.
Universal is prepared to sell European rights to artists such as Coldplay, Kylie Minogue and Pink Floyd, which are represented by EMI-backed labels Parlophone, Mute, Chrysalis and EMI Classics. Universal will likely license non-European rights for buyers interested in global rights, sources said.
Potential bidders have already expressed interest in the European holdings, which are likely to be sold piecemeal rather than as a single group. They include private-equity firms and smaller players such as Taylor Swift’s independent label, Big Machine, and Glassnote, another independent label, sources said.
Before the European Commission ramped up its review, Universal, part of French conglomerate Vivendi, had put several smaller catalogs on the auction block to help pay for the EMI deal.
A source said those assets, which include a Universal classics catalog, are on hold until EC regulators greenlight its divestment package in Europe.
A UMG spokesperson declined comment on the sales process, saying, “We look forward to working further with the commission and are confident of receiving clearance.”