Sony buys out Bertelsmann stake in Sony BMG for $2.4B

Sony Corporation announced it will acquire partner Bertelsmann AG's 50 percent stake in record label Sony BMG for $2.4 billion, a price at the bottom end of what the German media giant was reportedly seeking in its effort to extricate itself from the beleaguered music industry. Per terms of the deal, Sony will rename the label Sony Music Entertainment, with Rolf Schmidt-Holz remaining as CEO. The two firms originally created the Sony BMG joint venture in August 2004--the label is home to acts like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Alicia Keys and Usher, with affiliated imprints including Arista, Columbia, Epic, Jive Records and RCA. According to Sony, the deal heralds a deeper and more robust integration of its worldwide media assets, promising an entertainment experience that spans across multiple platforms, including mobile. Earlier this year, Sony BMG announced it is at work on a new digital music subscription service promising consumers unlimited access to the label's catalog across a wide variety of portable media devices.

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