Terra Firma Announces A Quarter Of EMI Shareholders Have Accepted Their Buyout Offer
Terra Firma has announced that over 25% of EMI’s shareholders have accepted the private equity firms buyout offer. Terra Firma also said Friday it had extended again its period for other EMI shareholders to accept its offer, this time until a final deadline of 1pm ET on July 29th. Any offers accepted after that date will lapse. Previous deadlines passed July 19th, July 12th and July 4th.
Although well-down on the 90% required rate of acceptance, the update represents a vast improvement for Terra Firma, which on July 12 had collected just 3.82% shareholder take-up. The equity group made clear its intentions for EMI with a 265 pence ($5.21) per share offer back in May 21, valuing the London-based music firm at about £2.4 billion ($4.89 billion).
The private equity firm has emerged as the clear frontrunner to seal a buyout deal for EMI. Earlier this week, two possible counterbidders, Warner Music Group and a group led by former EMI chief executive Jim Fifield, withdrew from the offer process. EMI’s board subsequently called on its shareholders to unanimously accept Terra Firma’s offer, which would be largely free from regulatory hurdles.
