NYT obtains Sony document revealing EMP layoffs

N.Y. TIMES OBTAINS CONFIDENTIAL SONY REPORT: Just before the European Commission approved Sony’s proposed $2.2 billion takeover of EMI Music Publishing this morning (see story), the N.Y. Times published some revealing details about the proposed deal from a confidential report Sony prepared for investors earlier this year. According to the report, the company will lay off about 60% of EMI’s publishing staff within two years, as part of $70 million in annual savings. It also estimates that the combined publishing assets of Sony and EMI would account for 31% of the business, making it the clear leader in the industry. The prospectus states unequivocally that the combined publishing assets of EMI and Sony “will represent the world’s largest publishing catalog with a No. 1 market share on a combined basis.” Sony wouldn’t comment on the information in the document, a 74-page prospectus for a $1.1 billion bond offering that was prepared by UBS in January on Sony’s behalf. Regulators in Europe and the U.S. will probably demand divestments from both companies, as the EC did before approving UMG’s $2.1 billion takeover of BMG Music Publishing in 2007. Sony hasn’t identified any assets earmarked for selling off, but according to documents circulated to prospective buyers, they include the European rights to both EMI’s Virgin catalog and Sony/ATV’s Famous Music catalog. The European rights to these catalogs generated about $20 million in revenue last year, according to the solicitation. (4/18a)