Shares of record company EMI Group PLC, whose artists include Coldplay and the Beatles, rose sharply Tuesday after the company said it received an approach about a possible takeover.
EMI did not say who the potential bidder was.
The Financial Times, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation, reported earlier Tuesday that companies including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. may be prepared to pay $4.85 billion (2.5 billion pounds) or more for the company.
The discussions remain at an early stage and may yet come to nothing, the FT said.
The company was in takeover talks earlier this year with U.S. rival Warner Music Group about a $4.6 billion deal, but those talks were clouded by a European court ruling annulling earlier approval of the 2004 merger of Sony Corp.’s Sony Music and Bertelsmann AG’s BMG — casting doubt on whether an EMI-Warner deal would receive regulatory approval.