Bertelsmann

Bertelsmann, KKR Form Music Rights Joint Venture

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 8, 2009 - 8:00am.
Gutersloh, Germany - German media conglomerate Bertelsmann announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with asset management firm KKR on a new joint venture, which will provide artists and labels with licensing and administration of music rights. Under the deal, Bertelsmann will own 49% of the venture and KKR will own 51%.

Lycos Europe to Liquidate, Return $66.7M to Shareholders

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 12, 2008 - 9:12am.

Haarlem, The Netherlands - The shareholders of Lycos Europe, the portal and Web hosting service, voted this week to liquidate the company and return $66.7 million in proceeds from asset sales to shareholders, PaidContent UK reports.

Lycos Europe Fails to Find Buyer; Will Shut Down

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 26, 2008 - 7:06am.
Haarlem, The Netherlands - Lycos Europe, the portal and Web hosting service, said on Wednesday that it has concluded a strategic review process and will shut down operations and seek a sale of remaining assets. The company is separate from Lycos in the U.S., and was launched as a joint venture between Telefonica's Terra and Bertelsmann.

Sony Completes Purchase of Bertelsmann Stake in Sony BMG

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 2, 2008 - 6:45am.

New York - Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) said on Thursday that it has completed its $1.2 billion purchase of Bertelsmann's 50% stake in their Sony BMG record label joint venture, ending the partnership the companies embarked on back in 2004. The company will now be known as Sony Music Entertainment, and will account for about 23% of U.S. album sales, second to Universal Music.

Game Publisher Trion World Network Nabs $70 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 23, 2008 - 7:20am.

Redwood City, Calif. - Video game developer and publisher Trion World Network announced on Tuesday that it has raised $70 million in its third round of venture capital financing, co-led by "a large global financial institution" and Act II Capital.

EU Approves Sony's $1.2B Takeover of Sony BMG Label

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 17, 2008 - 7:47am.

Brussels - The European Commission has cleared Sony's (NYSE: SNE) proposed $1.2 billion acquisition of Bertelsmann's 50% stake in their joint record label venture, Sony BMG, concluding that "the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition." The Commission said it did not find concern with Sony BMG and Sony/ATV's potential control of joint licensing of publishing and recording rights to online music retailers, nor with Sony's consumer electronics business, which makes music-related devices like MP3 players and mobile phones.

Is 50% of Sony BMG worth $1.2 billion?

Authored by Jay Baage on August 5, 2008 - 11:10am.

Bertelsmann Sells Stake in Sony BMG for $1.2 Billion

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 5, 2008 - 9:44am.

*A clarification has been added to this story.

New York
- Sony (NYSE: SNE) announced on Tuesday that it has agreed to buy Bertelsmann's 50% stake in their four-year-old major record label joint venture Sony BMG, in a deal valued at $1.2 billion. "After a careful and thorough review, we made the strategic decision to sell our investment in this joint venture to Sony, a step that we believe will benefit the stakeholders of both our companies," said Bertelsmann chairman and CEO Hartmut Ostrowski.

Bertelsmann Sells "Columbia House" Direct Group Unit to Najafi

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 11, 2008 - 8:00am.

Gutersloh, Germany - German media conglomerate Bertelsmann announced on Friday that it has agreed to sell its direct-to-consumer business, Direct Group North America, to Phoenix, Ariz.-based Najafi Companies for an undisclosed sum.

Report: Bertelsmann Seeks $1.5B for Its Stake in Sony BMG

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 11, 2008 - 9:31am.

Los Angeles - German media conglomerate Bertelsmann is looking to sell its 50% stake in major record label joint venture Sony BMG back to Sony (NYSE: SNE) for $1.5 billion, an unnamed source told Financial Times Deutschland. Bertelsmann is looking to complete the sale within four to six weeks, and the talks are "well advanced," the source told FTD, according to a posting on the FTD article at PaidContent.

Sony BMG Revenue Down 27.8%; Digital Up 40%

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 20, 2008 - 9:06am.

Gutersloh, Germany - German media conglomerate Bertelsmann has reported its annual earnings for 2007, and said that revenues from its share of joint venture record label Sony BMG fell 27.8%, to $2.3 billion, as physical revenues fell 17% and digital revenues increased by 40%. Digital now accounts for 17% of total revenue at Sony BMG, up from 12% in 2006.

Random House to Sell DRM-free Audiobooks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 25, 2008 - 2:17pm.

New York - Publisher Random House, a unit of Germany's Bertelsmann, has decided to forego digital rights management on its audiobooks and will begin selling them in the unprotected MP3 format, The Wall Street Journal reported. Authors who do not wish to participate may still have their audiobooks sold wrapped in DRM. Random House recently partnered with digital music store eMusic to test sales of DRM-free audiobooks, and found that none of its titles were pirated on file-sharing networks.

Digital Royalty Processor RoyaltyShare Gets $4 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 22, 2007 - 8:44am.

San Diego - RoyaltyShare, a provider of digital royalty and content management services to the entertainment industry, announced on Monday that it has added $4 million to its second round of venture capital financing, from Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments and Trident Capital.

Music Publishers Settle With Bertelsmann Over Napster Investment

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 31, 2007 - 6:21am.

Washington - The National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA), a trade association that represents over 700 U.S. music publishers, announced on Friday that it has settled its lawsuit against German media conglomerate Bertelsmann, over the company's investment in the Napster file-sharing service in 2000.

Arvato Mobile Adds Mobile Music Videos From EMI

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 15, 2007 - 4:01pm.

Hamburg, Germany - Arvato Mobile, a unit of Germany's Bertelsmann that distributes mobile entertainment content, said on Wednesday it has extended its agreement with major label EMI Music, and will now make full-track music video downloads available to European mobile customers. The deal will bring full-track music videos, videotones, wallpapers, ringtones and full-track downloads to Arvato-powered services in more than 75 countries.

Bertelsmann Invests in Mobile Social Networking Firm Blue Lion

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 6, 2007 - 10:52am.

Cologne, Germany - Blue Lion, a German mobile social networking start-up, announced that it has closed a "multi-million euro" first round of financing from Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI), the venture arm of the German media conglomerate.

Bertelsmann Pays Warner Music $110 Million to Settle Napster Lawsuit

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 24, 2007 - 10:25am.

New York - Major record label Warner Music Group and German media conglomerate Bertelsmann jointly announced on Tuesday that they have settled litigation filed by Warner over Bertelsmann's 2001 investment in the original Napster file-sharing service.

EMI Settles With Bertelsmann Over Napster Investment

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 27, 2007 - 9:52am.

Los Angeles - Major record label EMI Group and German media conglomerate Bertelsmann announced on Monday that they have settled a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by EMI over Bertelsmann's investment in the original Napster free file-sharing service.

Court Keeps Bertelsmann-Attorney Talks Secret in Napster Investor Suit

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 15, 2007 - 11:45am.

San Francisco - A federal appeals court has ruled that German media conglomerate and one-time Napster investor Bertelsmann does not have to disclose its lawyers' communications regarding a $50 million loan it provided Napster in 2001, the Associated Press reported.

Bertelsmann Launches Digital Media Investments Fund

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 20, 2006 - 1:30pm.
Gutersloh, Germany - German media conglomerate Bertelsmann this week announced the launch of a new venture capital fund that will invest in digital media companies. Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI) has initial funding of $63 million, which it will use to cover seed stage to early round investments in companies that intersect with Bertelsmann's books, magazines, music, television, direct marketing and media services businesses. "As digital media, the web and mobile access continue to converge on a global scale, we seek to partner with pioneering companies developing new technologies, new business models or new visions of the future," said BDMI president Richard Sarnoff.