Bertelsmann has struck a deal to buy Napster’s assets for $8
million. Napster’s founder, Shawn Fanning, CEO Konrad Hilbers and
other senior staff agreed to return to the company, just three days
after resigning over a refusal by Napster’s board to strike a deal
with the German media group.
Media reports suggest that the $8 million deal includes the name
and software and an undertaking to pay off Napster’s creditors.
Napster is still facing lawsuits from several record companies.
Its file-sharing service has been dormant since July 2001. It went
off-line to comply with a court order. Its attempts to re-launch as
a subscription service were delayed by its failure to agree
licensing terms with record companies.
In a statement, Bertelsmann’s CEO Joel Klein said; “We’re happy
to see Napster move forward with Kondrad Hilbers at the helm. We
are very committed to providing artists the best possible
distribution opportunities for their work, and to providing
consumers more choice and control.” He added, “Peer-to-peer is a
transforming technology and we’re proud to have Shawn Fanning
continue to work on its development.”
