Mubadala sells EMI stake to Sony for $4.8 bln

Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment Company sold its consortium’s majority interest in EMI Music Publishing to Sony Corporation for $4.75 billion, it said in a press statement on Tuesday.

The original transaction and investor consortium that partnered with Sony and the Michael Jackson Estate to acquire EMI Music Publishing from a wholly-owned subsidiary of Citigroup Inc. was sourced and assembled by Mubadala Capital’s private equity business, which has controlled and managed EMI Music Publishing on behalf of Mubadala and other third-party investors since 2012.

In a separate statement, Sony said it expects to pay a total of about $2.3 billion for the majority stake in EMI Music Publishing, which it hopes will strengthen its entertainment portfolio.

If the transaction goes through, Sony will indirectly own about 90 percent of the equity interest in EMI Music Publishing, which would become a consolidated subsidiary, Sony added.

The final purchase price remains subject to customary closing adjustments.