UMG on the hook for HMV?

The Telegraph has reported that Universal Music has ended up with EMI’s liability for the leases on 40 HMV stores, something that could become a £150 million problem if the entertainment retailer was to go under in the new year. EMI committed to guarantee about 40 HMV leases when the retail firm, previously a division of the music major, was spun off as an independent business in 1998.