Vivendi acquires BMG in $2.1 billion deal

Vivendi announced that it has agreed to acquire the Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) for 1.63 billion Euro or about $2.08 billion. The brand "BMG" will fade and the assets of the music publisher will be integrated into the operation of Universal Music Group (UMG), a subsidiary of Vivendi.

The acquisition has been approved by Vivendi’s board of directors and will be subject to the regulatory approval. Vivendi expects UMG to become the world’s largest music publisher. BMG’s catalog includes artists such as Coldplay, Justin Timberlake, Maroon 5, Christina Aguilera, R Kelly, Juan Gabriel as well as The Scorpions, Barry Manilow, Gilbert Becaud and classical artists Puccini and Ravel.