LONDON (Brand Republic) – Bertelsmann and EMI are meeting today to draw up preliminary plans for their potential merger, ahead of EMI’s full-year results presentation tomorrow where the company is expected to answer shareholders’ questions about the deal.
The two are said not to have finalised the new company’s executive structure. However, Ken Berry, head of recorded music for EMI, and Rudi Gassner, the recently appointed chief executive and president of Bertelsmann’s BMG Music, are tipped to be co-chief executives of the planned music behemoth.
Bertelsmann is said to be seeking a 50.1% ownership in the entity, which would see the two chiefs report to Dr Thomas Middelhoff, Bertelsmann’s chief executive.
The role of Eric Nicoli, the EMI chairman, is yet to be confirmed.