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Technology Stocks : Liquid Audio Inc - (Nasdaq- LQID) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Robert Skinner who wrote (545)	1/23/2000 11:30:00 AM
From: R Hamilton	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 674

>>> And if one is already invested in LQID to see this as a Sell on the news opportunity.<<< well, if you're a nimble trader, i can't argue with taking profits on news swings, and buying back at a lower price,,,,but, imho, LQID is a great long term hold which has alot of upside potential this year alone. and this news doesn't hurt either....! FOCUS-EMI, Warner plan to form global music group (Adds industry sources, analyst comment, background) By Ben Hirshler LONDON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Britain's EMI Group Plc and Time Warner Inc.'s (NYSE: TWX) music arm are set to merge, creating the world's biggest record company with a powerful foothold on the Internet, industry sources said on Sunday. The tie-up between EMI and Warner Music Group would forge a combined group worth some $20 billion and make EMI -- a long- standing target of takeover speculation -- a majority-owned unit of Time Warner. Details of the deal are due to be announced on Monday morning. Time Warner announced its own merger with Internet giant America Online (NYSE: AOL) two weeks ago, with AOL agreeing to buy it in a stock swap worth $163 billion. Leveraging off that new media titan will give the merged EMI-Warner unprecedented access to Internet-based distribution channels for its music. EMI-Warner will bring together some of the biggest names in music. EMI's line-up includes the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Spice Girls while Warner's stars include Eric Clapton, Cher and Madonna. An EMI spokesman declined to comment on the merger talks, following earlier reports by British newspapers The Sunday Telegraph and Sunday Business that a deal was close. The papers said EMI Chairman Eric Nicoli and senior directors were meeting their opposite numbers from Warner, including Roger Ames, head of Warner Music Group, at the London offices of Warburg Dillon Read on Sunday morning to finalise terms. Warburg is advising EMI while Morgan Stanley Dean Witter is thought to be representing Warner. WELL-KNOWN LABELS The deal will create a business with sales of more than $8 billion a year and bring together a number of well-known record labels including Virgin, Atlantic, WEA and HMV. Carlo Campomagnani, media analyst with Credit Suisse First Bosto, said both sides stood to gain from the tie-up and the increased exposure to Internet consumers. "It gives EMI the flexibility to place content in front of individual buyers," Campomagnani said. "In the old days, EMI was worth a function of cash generated from record selling. In the current environment its content can be used to do a lot more things and to attract Internet traffic." The Sunday Telegraph said that the deal would bring about cost savings of as much as 500 million pounds a year out of combined annual overheads of around three billion pounds. Nicoli -- who joined EMI from United Biscuits Plc only last year -- is expected to relinquish his role as EMI chairman, but a leading role is believed to have been reserved for Ken Berry, the chief executive of EMI's record business. Recent industry speculation has swirled around the likelihood of German media group Bertelsmann AG making a bid for EMI, though neither group has commented. EMI was seen as vulnerable to a takeover as the world's last major free-standing music group. Most of its rivals are already owned by powerful, larger media concerns. The pace of change is accelerating in the music industry as the Internet promises to revolutionise distribution, making traditional compact discs and tapes redundant. Industry experts believe that it is only a matter of time before most music is sold over the Internet, being downloaded onto PCs and recording devices. Warner is the fourth largest music business in the world and EMI is fifth, but the combined group would be catapulted into global leadership. EMI reported a 10 percent rise in first-half pre-tax profits to 75.4 million pounds. Its shares closed down seven percent in London on Friday at 648 pence, following a broker downgrade, valuing the company at 5.5 billion pounds. Time Warner was up $3-5/16 in New York at $91-1/4. looking forward to monday! rhonda