Universal to Acquire EMusic.com for $24 Million

Universal Music Group agreed to acquire digital music service provider EMusic.com (EMUS Quote) in a cash deal valued at about $24 million.

Universal, a unit of Vivendi (V Quote), offered 57 cents for each share of EMusic.com. Shares of EMusic rose 12 cents to 54 cents on the news. The 52-week high is $5.18, while the low for the last year is 15 cents.

The American depositary shares of Vivendi rose $1.25, or 2.1%, to $61.45 in recent New York Stock Exchange trading.

In addition to having a subscription service that allows users to download music from the Internet, EMusic.com operates music-oriented Web sites RollingStone.com and DownBeat.com.