bertelsmann
RSS bertelsmannHigh-tech VIPs and the silicon.com curse
Comment Can he survive when his peers at Bertelsmann and Vivendi were ousted? The past few months have already seen the demise of Jean-Marie Messier, ex of Vivendi Universal (our number four), Thomas Middelhoff, ex of Bertelsmann (seven), Ron Sommer... [04 Sep 2002]
Napster - and now the end is near
News A federal judge has blocked the $9m sale of Napster to German media giant Bertelsmann, a decision likely to force the onetime file-swapping powerhouse out of business. Bertelsmann's reaction was muted. [04 Sep 2002]
Napster closing - the aftermath
News The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) sought to block Bertelsmann's purchase on several grounds. In arguments reminiscent of the copyright holders' original piracy claims in court... [04 Sep 2002]
Napster: The final countdown?
News German media giant Bertelsmann is on the brink of shutting several of its key online assets, including bol.com and Napster, according to reports. Bertelsmann's board has already agreed to scrap its ecommerce operations, according to the FT, almost... [02 Sep 2002]
Napster faces music as bankruptcy looms
News The assets of the Napster file-swapping service are expected to wind up in the hands of benefactor Bertelsmann later today, as the near-defunct start-up's bankruptcy hearings close. Napster agreed to sell itself to Bertelsmann for just $9m, barring... [29 Aug 2002]
Barnes & Noble lost on the Amazon trail
News Barnes&Noble.com, the online offspring of book industry giants Barnes & Noble and Bertelsmann, has been one of the leaders in online retailing in terms of sales and customers. By Troy Wolverton [15 Aug 2002]
Ousted Bertelsmann boss blames boardroom brou-ha-ha
News Thomas Middelhoff, the outgoing chairman of Bertelsmann, has blamed his hasty exit from the company on a rift with the supervisory board and the Mohn family, who are major shareholders in the German media giant. [31 Jul 2002]
Middelhoff considers AOL job offer
News Ousted Bertelsmann boss Thomas Middelhoff is mulling a job offer from AOL Time Warner. After taking up the role of CEO at Bertelsmann in 1998, he engineered a deal with AOL that was to last until the Time Warner merger of 2000. [30 Jul 2002]
Thomas Middelhoff, mover and shaker
Comment The trouble is the story was about another of our top 50 Agenda Setter personalities, Thomas Middelhoff, now ex of Bertelsmann. Next year, expect to see a new head of Bertelsmann, Deutsche Telekom or Vivendi in our list - as per IBM's Sam Palmisano... [29 Jul 2002]
Middelhoff quits
News Middelhoff will be replaced as chief executive of Bertelsmann by Gunter Thielen and some German newspapers have already matched Middelhoff with the vacant job at Deutsche Telekom. Middelhoff, 49, had been in charge at Bertelsmann since 1998. [29 Jul 2002]
Terra no firmer after Bertelsmann decision
News Terra Lycos' biggest advertising account has dried up, with Bertelsmann back-tracking on a previous five-year commitment to the Spanish ISP. The German media giant two years ago agreed to spend around $1bn over five years with Terra but the price... [25 Jul 2002]
Sony and Universal Music cut cost of digital music
News Sony has recently formed Pressplay, a music file-swapping venture with Vivendi, while rival record labels AOL Time Warner, Bertelsmann and EMI have teamed up on MusicNet. Universal Music and Sony have cut the price of digital music downloads and... [13 Jun 2002]
Bertelsmann buys Britney label for $3bn
News Media giant Bertelsmann has splashed out $3bn to acquire music company Zomba, home of popstar and teen idol Britney Spears. Bertelsmann already had a 25 per cent stake in Zomba's publishing division and a 20 per cent share of its record division. [12 Jun 2002]
Napster: Drawn out death almost complete
News Napster has agreed to sell its assets to German media giant Bertelsmann for $8m and the assumption of a number of the company's liabilities - including Bertelsmann's own $91m handout to the fallen music swapping service. [05 Jun 2002]
Napster lives!
News German media giant Bertelsmann is to buy up Napster for a mere $8m in a move which should secure the future of the music swapping service. Under the terms of the deal, Bertelsmann will pay $8m to Napster's creditors to acquire its assets. [20 May 2002]
