EMI released a statement that iconic UK recording studio Abbey Road will stay in its possession. The financially troubled record label issued a statement Sunday in response to a public outcry at the prospect of the famed studio being sold.
The company has been developing plans to revitalise the studio, but those plans would require a substantial injection of capital. When the company received an offer to buy Abbey Road for in excess of £30 million last year, they rejected the offer since they has claimed that Abbey Road should remain in EMI’s ownership, according to the New York Times.
The studio, which has been owned by EMI since 1931, had reportedly been put up for sale by the struggling EMI in order to lower the debt burden placed on it. Abbey Road has been one of the world’s best-known recording studios since it was used for 90% of the Beatles’ recordings. However, the studio has become less profitable as record companies have gradually cut recording budgets.
EMI, which counts many musicians such as Robbie Williams and Coldplay, is currently struggling under a huge debt level brought on by Terra Firma’s $4 billion buy-out in 2007. The UK private equity firm will supposedly have to raise an additional £100 million capital from investors to prevent the company from breaching its banking covenants. The company posted a £1.75 billion loss for the year to March 2009 in accounts earlier this month.
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