Sony/ATV submits offer for Warner Music

New York: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, owned by Sony Corp and Michael Jackson's estate, has submitted a bid for Warner Music Group Corp ahead of the deadline, sources said.

Sony/ATV made a joint bid with billionaire Ronald Perelman and Guggenheim Partners LLC, said the sources. Warner Music called a board meeting with the aim of picking a buyer in 48 hours, people said.

The entry of Sony/ATV increases the number of known bidders to three after billionaire investor Ron Burkle decided to walk away last week. Len Blavatnik, a former Warner Music director, and brothers Tom and Alec Gores also submitted bids ahead of the deadline, people familiar with the offers said.

Sony/ATV's bid is in the $3 billion (Dh11.03 billion) range offered by Blavatnik and the Gores brothers, one person said. The company, headed by Martin Bandier, is interested Warner Music's publishing business, while its partners are focused on recorded music, one of the people said.

Will Tanous, a spokesman for Warner Music, and Liz Young, a spokeswoman for Sony Music in New York, had no comment. Christine Taylor, a spokeswoman for Perelman's MacAndrews & Forbes in New York, didn't respond to requests for comment.