Blackstone Capital Partners III LP has bought a majority stake in music mail order marketer Columbia House Co. for about $400 million, according to published reports.
The New York-based music direct marketer had been owned jointly by Sony Corp. and AOL Time Warner Inc. Blackstone announced that the deal would go through in May (DIRECT Newsline, May 14, 2002).
Both Sony and Warner Music Group will retain minority interests in Columbia House and will remain important suppliers of music and video content to the company.
Financing for the transaction, was arranged by UBS Warburg LLC and Banc of America Securities LLC.