EMI

EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, abbreviated as EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its acquisition by Universal Music in 2012, it was the fourth largest business group and record label conglomerate in the music industry, and was one of the "Big Four" record companies (later the "Big Three"). Its labels included EMI Records, Parlophone, Virgin Records, and Capitol Records. Following EMI's dissolve, most were acquired by Universal Music Group. Parlophone was acquired by Warner Music. EMI was listed on the London Stock Exchange, and was also once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, but faced financial problems and was sold to Terra Firma Capital Partners in 2007. After the acquisition, EMI underwent a profound restructuring and became a private company. During Terra Firma's ownership, EMI accumulated around $4billion in debt. This led to its acquisition by Citigroup in February 2011. Citigroup's ownership was temporary, as EMI announced in November 2011 that it would sell its music arm to Vivendi's Universal Music Group for $1.9 billion and its publishing business to a Sony/ATV consortium for around $2.2 billion. Other members of the Sony consortium include the estate of Michael Jackson, the Blackstone Group, and the Abu Dhabi–owned Mubadala Development Company. Following the sale, EMI's locations in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada were divested to reduce debt. EMI Music Publishing is owned by Sony Music Publishing, the music publishing division of Sony Music which bought another 70% stake in EMI Music Publishing 2018.