EMI

EMI Group was a British transnational music conglomerate founded in London in March 1931, its name being short for Electric and Musical Industries. At the time Universal Music acquired its recorded music arm in 2012 it was the fourth largest business group in the music industry and one of the Big Four record companies. Its labels included EMI Records, Parlophone, Virgin Records and Capitol Records. Once listed on the London Stock Exchange, it was sold to Terra Firma Capital Partners in 2007, accumulated heavy debt, passed to Citigroup in 2011, and was then broken up. Most labels went to Universal, Parlophone went to Warner Music, and the publishing business went to a Sony-led consortium.