Cash-strapped music company EMI Group Ltd. is seeking a buyer for Abbey Road, the London studio where the Fab Four recorded some of their most famous songs, a person familiar with the situation said Tuesday.
The person said talks had been going on for several months but a buyer had not yet been found. The individual spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private.
A spokesman for EMI refused to comment on the sale bid, which could raise tens of millions of dollars for the struggling label.
Analysts said the sale price would be far short of the $165 million EMI needs to survive, and would mean giving up one of its most high-profile assets not just a recording studio, but a tourist attraction and shrine for Beatles fans.
“It's like throwing sandbags off the crippled balloon," said Adrian Drury, an analyst at Ovum Securities. “It is not going to help its cash situation that much. But EMI management are trying to desperately raise cash wherever they can, so the normal rules don't apply."
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