EMI and Warner submit Chrysalis bids

LONDON - EMI, under its new owner Guy Hands, has tabled an indicative bid for music firm Chrysalis - one of many indicative offers submitted for the group, sources involved in the situation said on Friday.

Hands, whose private equity firm Terra Firma bought EMI last year, faces competition as Chrysalis has also received indicative bids from several other groups including Warner Chappell, the music publishing unit of Warner Music, said the sources, who asked not be to be named.

Chrysalis sold its radio assets last year to focus on its music publishing and recording business and it said in December that it was in preliminary discussions with "select parties" which could lead to an offer.

Shares in the music group shot up almost 11 percent at the start of trading on Friday, and were up 7.6 percent at 106.5 pence at 10:25 a.m.

EMI, Chrysalis and Warner Music all declined to comment.

According to a report in the Times, Sony/ATV, a joint venture between Sony and the singer Michael Jackson, has also made a bid, while private-equity firms and specialist music publishers have also shown an interest.

Chrysalis is one of the few remaining independent publishers in Britain and has Blondie, David Bowie, David Gray and Gnarls Barkley on its roster.

Terra Firma's Hands bought EMI last year and on Tuesday announced up to 2,000 job cuts in the recorded music division. But music publishing offers a more reliable income as it benefits when its music is played on television and radio, computer games and in advertising.

No one at Universal Music Group, which is owned by Vivendi, was available to comment.