Universal Closes on EMI Deal, Becoming, by Far, Biggest of Remaining Big Three

The Universal Music Group closed on its $1.9 billion acquisition of EMI Music, a week after receiving regulatory clearance in Europe and the United States and more than 10 months after it first made the deal with Citigroup. As a condition of approval, Universal will be forced to sell off about a third of EMI’s assets to other music companies. Even so, it will be the largest, by far, of the three remaining major record companies, with a global market share of about 36 percent.