Four years after the creation of a joint venture between the 2 companies, Sony have acquired the 50% stake in Sony BMG of German media company Bertelsmann. Upon completion of the deal, labels like Arista, Columbia, Epic and Jive will call Sony home.

The timing of the acquisition comes 12 months prior to the expiration of the joint venture between Sony and Bertelsmann. Of the deal, Bertelsmann AG chairman and CEO Hartmut Ostrowski stated, “The move is consistent with our new growth strategy and will enable us to focus on our defined growth areas. Sony has been an excellent partner, and they are the right company to take this business to the next step and ensure that it realizes its full value and potential.”http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3ifa16f485c81d0f2aedcdd4013814d698