Universal Music Group parent Vivendi will remain committed to Universal’s proposed £1.2bn acquisition of EMI Music regardless of the amount of divestments demanded by regulators.
The company’s finance head Philippe Capron reiterated to Reuters that there had been “constructive discussions for a long time with the regulators.”
When asked whether Vivendi would still go forward with the deal if Universal had to sell as much as 60% of EMI’s European business he answered: “At the end of the day, whatever remedies will have to be given, it will still be a very interesting deal for us. We are cautiously confident in a positive outcome.”
Vivendi has a September 9 deadline to UMG pay Citigroup the $1.9bn (£1.2bn) fee to acquire EMI, but D-Day for the European Commission to return a decision has been extended to September 27 - with sources hinting that US regulators are waiting on the EU ruling.
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