EMI to buy out Japan's Toshiba-EMI stake

TOKYO, Dec 14 (Reuters) British music company EMI Group Plc will buy out shares in Toshiba-EMI Ltd., the Japanese joint venture it had with Toshiba Corp., to expand in the local music industry, Toshiba said on Thursday.

EMI, which owns 55 percent of Toshiba-EMI, will buy all the shares in the local music label, whose artists include pop star Utada Hikaru, and Glay, a popular rock band.

Toshiba said the sale of its stake in the Tokyo-based music firm should be finalised between April and September of 2007, and generate an extraordinary profit of 13 billion yen (0.6 million) for Toshiba in the fiscal year starting April 2007.

REUTERS DKS PM0630