EMI bought in takeover deal

EMI Group has agreed to be bought by Terra Firma, a private equity group, in a deal announced late yesterday.

The deal, reported to be worth £3.2bn including debt, comes just two weeks after three US private equity firms Cerberus, Fortress and One Equity were linked with moves on EMI.

EMI is recommending the 265p a share offer from Terra Firma, which is above the 260p offered by Warner Music and rejected by EMI in March.