Cash strapped French media giant Vivendi Universal has closed the European arm of MP3.com, the online music site that it bought for £265m two years ago. Its decision to dump the expensive acquisition is part of its ongoing purge of the excesses of former chief executive Jean-Marie Messier.
The site, which was worth over £3bn at the height of the dotcom boom, will close on August 8 with around 20 redundancies in Europe. The US arm of the site has been placed up for sale, although analysts are doubtful whether a buyer will be found willing to operate it as a going concern.
Leanne Sharman, the vice president of sales and marketing at MP3.com Europe, said that while it was performing well operationally and had built up good relationships with advertisers and record labels, the decision was down to "corporate strategic reasons".
"We have started to generate significant revenues and now we have got to that stage it is a shame, there's general disappointment among staff and in the industry generally," she added.
News source: DanceFrontDoor
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