EMI's £1bn debt plan

EMI is said to be examining plans to borrow £1 billion in a radical overhaul of its balance sheet after the company's second profits warning of the year.

The company's board is looking at proposals to borrow the money against its publishing business, which manages the rights to more than 1 million songs, the according to Sunday newspaper reports.

EMI's music publishing business has been unaffected by the troubles which have hit the company's recording business.

EMI is said to want to use the cash secured against the publishing division's income to repay more expensive debt, potentially saving around £20 million a year. Redundancies and restructuring costs are set to push the company's net debts to £1.25 billion, the newspaper reports.

An EMI spokesman said the company "regularly reviewed" its financing options, but no new decisions had been made.

Profits

Last Wednesday the £1.7 billion firm - whose artists include Coldplay, Robbie Williams and the Arctic Monkeys - warned that profits for the year to March would be "significantly" below expectations following further weakness in the North American market.

It said sales in its recorded music division are expected to be down by 15% on a year earlier.

The group also raised the prospect of major job losses last month when it said it would look to take out layers of management and seek £110 million of cost savings.

EMI's rival Warner Music Group was also said today to be preparing a bid for the troubled company. Warner could make an approach for the firm within the next two weeks, the Mail on Sunday newspaper reported.

Spokeswomen for EMI and Warner refused to comment on the speculation.