Bertelsmann agrees to sell BMG Music Publishing to Vivendi for 1.63 bln euros

0 Comments | AFP, September, 2006

FRANKFURT (AFP) — German media giant Bertelsmann said it had agreed to sell its BMG Music Publishing arm to French group Vivendi for 1.63 billion euros (two billion dollars). The deal has already been approved by the supervisory boards of both Bertelsmann and Vivendi, the German group said in a statement.

The cash raised from the sale will be used to repay some of the bank loans taken out to finance the acquisition of the 25-percent stake in Bertelsmann's own share capital that had been held by Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL), the holding company of Belgian financier Albert Frere. © 2006 AFP