Sony to buy Bertelsmann's 50 pct stake in Sony BMG

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Sony Corp has agreed to purchase Bertelsmann AG's 50 percent stake in their Sony BMG Music joint venture, they said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

No sale price was disclosed, but a source close to the company said the deal had a transaction value of $1.5 billion.

The music label, home to the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Alicia Keys, will now be called Sony Music Entertainment Inc, and become a wholly owned unit of Sony Corporation of America.

Sony and Bertelsmann created the Sony BMG joint venture in August 2004. The record labels within the company include Columbia, Epic, Arista and RCA.

Reuters