BLACKSTONE CLOSES IN ON COLUMBIA HOUSE

Blackstone Group is close to concluding its deal to buy a majority stake in Columbia House, the jointly owned music and movie club of AOL Time Warner Inc. and Sony Corp., for roughly $450 million.

If talks remain on track, the deal could be announced as early as today, The New York Post reports.

Blackstone’s interest in Columbia House was first reported in March (click here) when AOL Time Warner and Sony revealed they were in advanced discussions with Blackstone Group to sell a majority stake in Columbia House.

By purchasing Columbia House, Blackstone Chairman Pete Peterson is betting on the continued growth of the direct marketer's DVD club, as well as potential growth from the creation of new clubs, the Post says.

While Blackstone's deal values Columbia House at more than $500 million, the buyout firm is paying less in order for AOL and Sony to retain a minority stake.

AOL and Sony had been trying—with little success—to sell Columbia House ever since its 1999 merger with online music retailer CDnow was called off. Last year, AOL and Sony held talks with Bertelsmann about merging its BMG Direct music club with Columbia House, but the two were unable to reach an agreement.

If Blackstone, a buyout and investment-banking firm, finalizes the deal, it will have beaten out two other groups. One group included Goldman Sachs and Edgar Bronfman Jr., who is shortly to leave his executive post at Vivendi Universal. The other group was Rhode Island private-equity firm Providence Equity Partner.