German media giant Bertelsmann said today it still believes it has a 50/50 chance of agreeing a merger of its music business with EMI and said no deadline had been set for wrapping up talks.
The merger would create a world force in the music industry, bringing together EMI artists Robbie Williams and the Rolling Stones and BMG's Whitney Houston and Backstreet Boys.
EMI and Bertelsmann have been prepared for a tough ride with European regulators after British-based EMI's previously planned merger with AOL, Time Warner's Warner Music had to be abandoned when the Commission looked set to reject the deal.
A European Commission investigation into price fixing by the world's five biggest music producers has cast a shadow over the EMI/Bertelsmann talks but industry sources noted that plenty of mergers have succeeded in industries facing cartel probes.
Reuters