CHRONOLOGY-Sony BMG's ambitions, legal woes, management spats

Aug 5 (Reuters) - Sony (6758.T) agreed to buy out Bertelsmann's [BERT.UL] 50 percent of Sony BMG on Tuesday, ending a four-year music joint venture that never managed to beat the woes of an industry in decline. Following are some of the key events in Sony BMG's history:

- Jan. 21, 2000: Bertelsmann says it is weighing up acquisitions in a bid to become a leading music industry player.

- Oct. 9, 2003: Bertelsmann says it is in talks with AOL Time Warner, Sony and EMI Group over a deal to create a joint venture with its BMG music label.

- Nov. 6, 2003: Bertelsmann says it plans to merge its BMG music business with that of Japan's Sony in a 50-50 joint venture.

- Jan. 26, 2004: A contingent of independent music labels vows to fight the proposed merger.

- Feb. 12, 2004: The European Commission says it will open an in-depth probe into the planned music merger.

- July 20, 2004: The European Commission unconditionally approves the merger of Sony Music and BMG. CEO-designate Andy Lack tells Reuters he is ready for the new role, which presents "terrific challenges".

- Dec. 3, 2004: Europe's independent record labels say they have filed a legal challenge to the European Commission's approval of the merger.

- Dec. 13, 2004: CEO Lack tells the Financial Times he plans to double investment in artists and songs in order to reap the benefits of a music industry revival.

- May 3, 2005: Restructuring charges at Sony BMG hit Bertelsmann's net profit.

- July 15, 2005: Number-two executive at Sony BMG, Michael Smellie, resigns as chief operating officer to return to his family in Australia.

- Oct. 10, 2005: Bertelsmann tells Sony it does not want to renew the contract of Sony BMG Chief Executive Andrew Lack, the New York Times reports.

- Oct. 11, 2005: Sony CEO Howard Stringer throws his support behind Lack.

- Nov. 19, 2005: Sony BMG's European head says the company will miss its 2005 sales target in Germany.

- Feb. 1, 2006: Bertelsmann board member Rolf Schmidt-Holtz will oust Andy Lack as Sony BMG CEO, Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung reports.

- Feb. 3, 2006: Schmidt-Holtz tells aspiring music executives the wrong CEO can destroy a company in two years.

- Feb. 10, 2006: Lack and Schmidt-Holtz swap roles to resolve the months-long battle between the parent companies.

- March 22, 2006: Bertelsmann's CEO says Sony BMG's share of the global market for recorded music fell in 2005.

- June 1, 2006: Two more Sony BMG executives quit.

- July 13, 2006: The European Commission says it will have to re-examine the Sony Music-BMG merger after a European court annuls the way it approved the 2004 deal.

- Oct. 3, 2007: Sony and Bertelsmann win European Commission clearance for the joint venture, for a second time.

- Aug 5, 2008: After weeks of speculation, Sony and Bertelsmann say Sony has agreed to buy Bertelsmann's 50 percent stake in Sony BMG.

For separate story on Sony's agreement to buy out Bertelsmann's stake, double click on [ID:nL5677837]

For factbox on Sony BMG's ranking among its competitors, double click on [ID:nL5715027] (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan)