EMI Group’s on-again, off-again pursuit of Warner Music Group is off indefinitely following the annulment of the SonyBMG merger, according to a statement issued today.  The EMI board “continues to believe that there are good arguments for regulatory approval of the combination” and that its June 23 offer for $31 a share in cash—rejected handily by WMG—“represented full and fair value for Warner Music.” So between the annulment and the most recent rejection, EMI “has decided not to pursue a combination with Warner Music for the time being.”
—The release had another purpose: explaining why, despite the intense effort to acquire WMG, EMI should be ok on its own including “generating very high growth in digital sales.”