No one could accuse Terra Firma of being impatient. The private equity firm this morning extended for a second time the deadline EMI Group shareholders have to accept its proposed £2.4 ($4.8) billion takeover of the London-based music label. Some 3.82 percent of EMI owners have now accepted the offer – only marginally more than the 3.56 percent acceptance level that prompted Terra to extend the July 4 deadline first time around. Although the European Commission said Terra’s buy presents no competition concerns, shareholders are clearly waiting for Warner to come up with an offer better than the 265p-per-share currently on the table (EMI was trading at 269p at time of writing).
There has also been a lot of negative press toward private equity in the U.K. in the last month. The new date, revised from yesterday, is now next Thursday, the same day by which Warner has reportedly been asked to show its hand. According to an EMI filing: “Shareholders who have not yet accepted the offer are urged to do so as soon as possible and in any event by 19 July 2007.”
— The EC’s restarted investigation in to the SonyBMG merger is expected to complete in October.