For all the technology companies that have embraced the acquisitive aspirations of private equity firms, there might be a lesson in EMI Group plc's $4.9 billion buyout by Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd.: barricade the corner office.

The private equity shop announced Wednesday that EMI CEO Eric Nicoli will be leaving the company prior to the deal closing and its delisting from the London Stock Exchange, which is expected on or around Sept. 18. Replacing Nicoli will be Terra Firma managing directors Chris Roling and Ashley Unwin, with Roling becoming chief operating officer of EMI Group and chief financial officer of both EMI Group and EMI Music. Unwin will assume the title of director of business transformation for both EMI Group and EMI Music. The current CFO of EMI Group, Martin Stewart, will step down from the company's board, which will itself now report to a new supervisory board chaired by Terra Firma's CEO Guy Hands and other executives from the buyout firm.
While Nicoli's eight-year stint as chairman and CEO was marked by takeover rumors, two recent profit warnings and an industry shaken to its core by illegal downloading, it was his move to begin offering digital rights management-free downloads that made EMI a leader in adapting to the  digital age in which music companies now need to live. When Terra Firma first made its offer for EMI in May, Hands said the firm planned to "accelerate the development of [EMI's] digital and online strategy to fully exploit this long-term growth opportunity," a position it reiterated in Wednesday's announcement. Whether or not Nicoli's ride into the sunset signals a change in strategy remains to be seen.

There will be more insight on how music companies are dealing with the digital world at Tech Confidential's Convergence 2.0 conference  on Sept. 17, when Warner Music Group chairman and CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. will be a keynote interview. —George White

See the press release on EMI's management changes
See Aug. 1 story from TheDeal.com
See Aug. 1 story from DealWatch

Tags: tech, private equity, EMI Group, Terra Firma