LONDON (Brand Republic) - EMI has offered to sell Virgin Records as part of its attempt to save its merger with Time Warner, and Sir Richard Branson is understood to be among the bidders.
Sir Richard was named as a possible buyer for Virgin along with US company Jive Records, according to a report in The Times. Jive Records, is one of the US’s leading record labels, home to Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys.
Branson sold Virgin Records to EMI in 1992 for £560m. Industry experts believe it could now be worth about £1bn. At the time Sir Richard used the cash to fund Virgin Atlantic.
The move to sell Virgin Records is meant to allay the European Commission’s concerns over the $20bn merger with Time Warner. EMI and Warner Music have already offered to sell local record labels and distribution networks.
The Commission is expected to decide on Wednesday whether the sale of Virgin is enough to allow the merger to go ahead.