Music publisher agrees £1bn takeover

A music publishing group with the rights to songs by Robbie Williams and Coldplay agreed to a £1bn (€1.47bn) takeover deal today.

BMG Music Publishing, which has a catalogue of more than one million songs including Christina Aguilera, Maroon5, Keane and Justin Timberlake, agreed to the sale as part of moves to clear €4.5bn of debt belonging to its owner Bertelsmann.