Final buyout bids for Warner Music Group (WMG.N) are due on Monday and the company could be sold by the end of the week in a deal valued at over $3 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter. The third round of bids is led by two competing financial groups Len Blavatnik's Access Industry and a joint bid by Tom and Alec Gores' Platinum Equity and Gores Group, according two people. The Warner Music sale process is taking place against a backdrop of ongoing declines in music sales as executives struggle to figure out new business models to guarantee the future of the industry. While Warner Music continues to generate reasonable levels of cash on its balance sheet -- a key metric for investors -- it will still be seen as a risky investment in a very tough market. Two weeks ago the second-round bids came in around $3 billion according to three people who asked not to be named as the process is confidential. Ron Burkle's Yucaipa Co, dropped out of the bidding late last week, the first person said.
Warner Music Group Corp. is a music content company. Shares of WMG remained unchanged at $7.47. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $4.00 and as high as $7.88. On average, 555900 shares of WMG exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 0.
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