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New York, Guetersloh, November 6, 2003 - The international media and entertainment companies Bertelsmann AG and Sony Corporation today announced that they have signed a non-binding letter of intent to form a jointly owned recorded music company to be called Sony BMG. The company will be 50% owned by Bertelsmann and 50% owned by Sony.

The joint venture of BMG and Sony Music Entertainment will combine their recorded music businesses. The new company would not include the companies' music publishing, physical distribution and manufacturing businesses.

Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BMG, would serve as Chairman of the Board of the new joint venture. The Board of Directors of the new company would be made up of an equal number of representatives from Sony and Bertelsmann.

Andrew Lack, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sony Music Entertainment, would be Chief Executive Officer. The newly formed joint venture would include senior executives from both music groups.

Consummation of the transaction remains subject to a number of conditions, including approvals of the regulatory authorities in the US and the European Union.

About BMG

Business Areas

Record labels, music publishing and music distribution

Headquarters

BMG
1540 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
USA

Shareholders

Bertelsmann AG (100%)

Artists (Selection)

Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys, Patrick Bruel, Busta Rhymes, The Calling, Nick Carter, The Chieftains, Kenny Chesney, Dave Matthews Band, Dido, Foo Fighters, Whitney Houston, Alan Jackson, Jars of Clay, R. Kelly, Alicia Keys, Avril Lavigne, Annie Lennox, *NSYNC, Kazumasa Oda, Pink, Elvis Presley, Eros Ramazzotti, Santana, Michael W. Smith, Britney Spears, Rod Stewart, Third Day, Justin Timberlake, TLC, Diego Torres, Usher, Luther Vandross, Westlife

Companies (Selection)

Arista Records (New York), Arista Associated Labels (New York), BMG Ariola (Munich), BMG Canada (Toronto), BMG Classics, BMG Distribution (New York), BMG Japan (Tokyo), BMG Music Publishing (New York), BMG Ricordi (Milan), BMG Songs (Los Angeles), BMG Special Products (New York), BMG UK & Ireland (London and Dublin), J Records (New York), Jive Records (New York), Provident Music Group (Nashville), RCA Music Group (New York), RCA Label Group - Nashville (Nashville), Verity (New York), Zomba Music Publishing (New York)

Offices

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States

Employees

4,500*

Revenues

$2.7 billion*

Office of the Chairman

Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Member of the Board, Bertelsmann AG Michael Smellie, Chief Operating Officer Tim Prescott, Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer Patrick Reilly, Vice President, Corporate Communications Ira Sallen, Senior Vice President, Human Resources

Company Leaders