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One top executive declared, "Game, set and match," when describing the state of said discussions.

EMI-BERTIE MERGER DIES
A GUTERSLOH DEATH

It's Our Story And We're Stickin' To It
While the "official" word from EMI and Bertelsmann Thursday (4/12) was that talks to merge the companies' music interests were "still ongoing," highly placed sources involved in the discussions reiterated to hitsdailydouble.com that a combined BMG-EMI had "no chance at all," with the continued discussions merely a political dance to make certain players in the process feel like they have explored every possible solution.

One top executive declared, "Game, set and match," when describing the state of said discussions.

Hitsdailydouble.com first reported Wednesday (4/11) that Bertelsmann's planned merger with the British music giant was expected to be scrapped in the very near future, and that official word of that nixing would come very soon from the congloms in the coming weeks.

Two big questions remain, according to sources at both companies. First, has anyone told Bertelsmann CEO Thomas Middelhoff that the merger is kaput? Second, when will the time be right to publicly announce that the deal is dead?

Some expect stronger numbers from publicly traded EMI in its next quarterly report, expected to drop next month. In order to buffer the news, will the Brits choose to make the formal announcement at that time?

Following the publication of our story, EMI and Bertelsmann released official statements saying that their planned merger was still "officially" being discussed. "Discussions with Bertelsmann continue," said Amanda Conroy, a spokeswoman for EMI in a statement that was echoed by Bertelsmann spokesman Oliver Fahlbusch.

These statements became the basis for published reports from Bloomberg, Billboard Bulletin and the Los Angeles Times dismissing HITS' assertion that talks between the two music majors had "broken off." Meanwhile, however, sources at both companies reaffirmed that negotiations would eventually be abandoned.

Even if talks between EMI and Bertie did proceed, sources said the proposed venture would likely never even make it to the regulatory review stage, despite Middelhoff's commitment to the plan, his relentless push for the deal and his willingness to offer massive concessions in hopes of winning approval.

Not only is Middelhoff's desire to merge with EMI reportedly not shared by some of the top execs at EMI and BMG, the labels also "will have to overcome some EC and FTC hurdles" before a merger could be achieved, a source commented. The proposed deal would very likely face the same sort of anti-monopoly scrutiny that Warner Music Group and EMI encountered last year during their failed merger attempt.

BMG, Bertelsmann and EMI officials could not be reached for comment on our follow-up report, as they are all still pissed about our first story.

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