Add Blavatnik

CONSPIRACY THEORY: The acquisition was expected to close late last night, barring any last-minute hitches, Atkinson points out, and the WMG board was expected to accept Blavatnik’s $3.3 billion offer. Echoing our own I.B. Bad (see next item), she predicts that Warner’s current management—presumably meaning Bronfman and Cohen—will stay in place and spearhead a bid for EMI. That strong likelihood, the reporter continues, has led to complaints from some of the parties involved in the three-month-long auction. They say they've wasted time and money in the form of legal and banking fees and now the company is being acquired by one of management's closest allies. (5/6a)