EMI SHAREHOLDERS LOVE WMG

EMI shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of the $20 billion planned merger between EMI Group Plc and Warner Music Group. According to a Reuters story this morning, proxy shareholders representing just over 442 million shares had voted in favor of the merger by more than 99 percent.

This despite rumors last week of a mysterious 11^th hour counter-bid.

As reported by Britain's Financial Times, a consortium comprising Telefonica, a U.S. financial institution and an Asian company had been mulling a $9 billion cash counter-bid. The Times reported today, however, that lawyers had advised the consortium against a counter-bid if it came after shareholders approved the merger.

Many speculated that the counter-bid was spurred by Vivendi's move to buy Seagram and its Universal Music assets.

"We never took the counter-bid talk seriously as we were never approached by anyone," the Reuters story quoted one shareholder. "We always planned to vote in favor of the Warner merger."

The merged Warner EMI Music will include such international superstars as Warner's Madonna and Eric Clapton and EMI's Spice Girls and Rolling Stones.