PARIS — Warner Music Group said Thursday that it had agreed to buy much of the European record label business that Universal Music Group acquired in its recent purchase of EMI.

The deal, worth £487 million, or $765 million, includes Parlophone as well as other EMI labels like Chrysalis and Ensign, representing Coldplay, David Guetta, Tina Turner, Iron Maiden and other artists. The European Commission had required Universal to sell the labels as a condition of its approval for the deal.

The purchase provides a fillip to the global ambition of Warner, which is strong in the United States but has struggled to compete with the other leading record companies — Universal and Sony Music Entertainment — in international markets. EMI, based in London, is strongest in Europe, and Parlophone is one of its flagship labels.

“Having the Parlophone Label Group become part of our family represents a unique opportunity for us to join with legendary record labels and artists that are highly complementary to our existing organization from a creative, geographic and strategic standpoint,” said Stephen F. Cooper, the chief executive of Warner.

Analysts said the sale included about a third of the overall business of EMI, which was the smallest of what used to be four major record companies, before EMI was taken over by Universal. The commission was concerned that a combined Universal and EMI, without significant divestitures, would have exercised too much control over certain music markets, potentially limiting choice.

Analysts said the deal could help Warner, which is controlled by the investor Len Blavatnik, develop existing artists in European markets where, until now, they have struggled.

The agreement means Warner is finally getting a large chunk of a company, EMI, that it had long pursued as an acquisition target or merger partner. Universal outbid Warner for EMI. In the auction of Parlophone and the other EMI assets, Warner trumped a handful of other bidders, including a partnership of Sony Music and BMG, a joint venture of the German media company Bertelsmann and the private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.

Universal, meanwhile, will recoup a sizable portion of the £1.2 billion it paid for EMI.

“Following this transaction, we will continue with our global reinvestment program that is rebuilding EMI and ensuring that the company is able to reach its full potential,” Lucian Grainge, the chief executive of Universal, said.

Ian Whittaker, an analyst at Liberum Capital, wrote in a note to clients that the sale also represented a “mild positive” for Universal’s parent, the French conglomerate Vivendi, which could use the proceeds to help pay down debt.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/08/technology/universal-unloads-european-labels-bought-from-emi.html?partner=rss&emc=rss