The company, which has assets in property and digital media, has reportedly placed a bid for the whole of the company according to people familiar with the bidding process. It declined to comment.

Meanwhile, having been told that an earlier bid for just Warner's publishing arm, Warner/Chappell was too low, BMG is understood to have presented Goldman Sachs, Warner's sale advisor, $2.8bn for the entire company. The publisher also declined to comment.

The second round of bidding for the music ...