AOL Time Warner Inc. and Sony Corp. have restarted talks about selling Columbia House, their jointly owned music and video direct-marketing club, to Bertelsmann AG, according to news reports.
Citing people familiar with the situation, the Wall Street Journal had reported that one scenario being discussed is for Bertelsmann, parent of Columbia’s main rival, BMG Direct, to pay cash for 80% of Columbia House, with one of the two Columbia House partners, probably AOL, retaining 20% of the company, the reports said.
The price for the stake could be between $500 million and $600 million, the newspaper cited one industry executive familiar with the talks as saying, though it is not clear if a price has been set.
The latest round of discussions, which follows a couple of other attempts to sell Columbia House to Bertelsmann over the past 18 months, could again end without a deal, according to the report.
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