After just four years, Sony BMG is now officially deceased. Sony Corp announced today that is has finally completed the acquisition of Bertelsmann's 50% stake in the Sony BMG venture. Rebranded as Sony Music Entertainment Inc. (SMEI) -- clever name! -- the entirety of its operations are now wholly owned by Sony Corporation of America, a company whose annual sales amounted to $88.7 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008, topping TMT's fiscal earnings by what experts might call "a significant margin."
And the cost of acquiring Bertelsmann's stake? Oh, just $1.2 billion. Chump change. Now all Sony has to do is save itself by focusing its leadership and finally settling into manageable roles. And I'd expect increasing crossover between Sony artists and the Playstation console, because as the saying goes, "Money is great!"
Meanwhile, soak in Sony BMG's beautiful website while it's still up. Boy, I'm really going to miss that brand. It really defined who I am as an individual, etc.
