NEW YORK (Reuters) - Vivendi SA is close to an agreement to buy Bertelsmann's BMG Music Publishing unit for about 1.6 billion euros ($2.1 billion), a source familiar with the deal said.
The deal is expected to be announced on Wednesday, the source said. It would make Vivendi the world's largest music publisher, ahead of EMI Group Plc's Music Publishing and Warner/Chappell Music.
The deal would be subject to U.S. and European Union regulatory approval.
However, separate sources told Reuters last week that the bids were due last Thursday and that it would take a week to ten days to sort through, with negotiations expected to continue through that period.
Bertelsmann declined to comment on Tuesday.
BMG Music Publishing, which owns the rights to thousands of songs including hits by Christina Aguilera and Coldplay, is being sold by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann to help fund its 4.5 billion euro buyback of a minority stake in the company.
Sources told Reuters last week that as well as Vivendi's Universal Music, U.S. media conglomerate Viacom had teamed up with private equity group Apollo to submit an offer, while Warner Music Group also turned in an offer by the deadline.
Goldman Sachs' private equity arm and Chicago-based private equity firm GTCR also submitted separate bids for BMG Music Publishing, people familiar with the sale said on Monday.
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