BMG beats Warner/Chappell and acquires nearly 30,000 songs divested by EMI

BMG outbid Warner/Chappell and secured itself the control of nearly 30,000 songs divested by EMI - the so called "Rosetta Catalog", including popular UK '80s hits from artists like Tears for Fears and Culture Club.

According to sources the bulk of songs was sold for nearly $90 million and was put on sale as part of the regulatory conditions for Sony/ATV Music Publishing's taking control of EMI Music Publishing in June.
BMG and Sony were the last two bidders in competition, after the other ones were eliminated in earlier rounds.
The reason why Sony/ATV Music Publishing has to sell some of the acquired assets is because "post transaction, the merged entity would have fully or partially owned publishing rights in more than half of chart hits in the UK and Ireland. Such market power would have likely affected customers' ability to license music not only in these countries but also at multi-territorial and pan-European levels".

The "Rosetta catalog" includes Virgin Music Publishing UK, Virgin Europe, Virgin US, Famous Music UK, with  works by leading authors such as Gary Barlow, Ozzy Osbourne, Robbie Williams, Ben Harper, Lenny Kravitz, Placebo and the Kooks.