EMI bids 150m for Chrysalis

EMI has made £150m bid for independent record label Chrysalis. The move by EMI chairman Guy Hands comes at a difficult time for the music company, which recently announced a major cost-cutting drive.

The bid follows Chrysalis founder Chris Wright’s decision to consider the sale of the business last year as part of a major review.

The decision by Hands (pictured) to axe nearly one third of EMI’s 6,000 workforce, including hundreds of marketers (MW January 17) led to criticism from the EMI’s top artists, including the Rolling Stones and Robbie Williams.

Hands is likely to face tough competition from Warner Chappell, the music publishing arm of Warner Music, to acquire Chrysalis, which owns the music publishing rights to artists like David Gray, Blondie and some of David Bowie’s work.

Private equity companies and specialist music publishers are also said to be interested in the business.

Hands’ private equity group Terra Firma bought EMI for £3.2bn last year.