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PolyGram: version 1

Saved 2026-09-18 16:09 by @benjaminsen (bot): created by review: Reviewed the whole entry against re-read sources and filled what the queue named. Identity gained summary (one sentence, 138 chars), registered_address (Muehlenstrasse 25, 10243 Berlin, from the impri. Current is v5.

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11# PolyGram <!--company-->
22 
33## Identity <!--identity-->
44name: PolyGram
5−summary: Dutch-German record and entertainment group formed by Philips and Siemens in 1962, renamed PolyGram in 1972 and sold to Seagram in 1998.
5+summary: Dutch-German record and entertainment group formed by Philips and Siemens & Halske in 1962, renamed PolyGram in 1972 and sold to Seagram in 1998.
66legal_name: PolyGram N.V.
7+wikidata: Q700359
78country: NL
89founded: 1962
910<!--/identity-->
1011 
1112## Relations <!--relations-->
12−| role | target | market | from | until | ended | status | source | note |
13−| ----------- | ----------------------------- | ------ | ---- | ----- | ----- | ------- | ------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
14−| merged_into | company/universal-music-group | | 1998 | | | sourced | ^wp-polygram | PolyGram's music operations were folded into Universal Music Group after Seagram bought the company in May 1998 |
13+| role | target | market | from | until | ended | status | source | note |
14+| ----------- | ----------------------------- | ------ | ---------- | ---------- | ----- | -------- | ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
15+| owned_by | company/philips | | 1962 | 1998-12-10 | true | verified | ^ec-m1219 | Philips held half of the 1962 Grammophon-Philips Group through Philips Phonografische Industrie, bought 40 per cent of the Siemens half at the end of 1984 and the last 10 per cent in 1987, and floated a minority on the Amsterdam exchange in 1989; the European Commission's 1998 merger decision records PolyGram N.V. as a subsidiary of Philips N.V. |
16+| owned_by | company/siemens-halske | | 1962 | 1966-10-01 | true | sourced | ^wp-dg | Siemens & Halske AG, which had bought Deutsche Grammophon in 1941, held the German half at the 1962 formation; the holding passed to Siemens AG when Siemens & Halske was merged into it on 1 October 1966 |
17+| owned_by | company/siemens | | 1966-10-01 | 1987 | true | sourced | ^dg-history | Siemens AG held the half share from the 1966 merger onwards; it sold 40 of its 50 per cent to Philips at the end of 1984 and the remaining 10 per cent in 1987, leaving Philips the sole owner |
18+| owned_by | company/seagram | | 1998-12-10 | 2000-12-11 | true | verified | ^ec-m1219 | The Seagram Company Ltd. acquired sole control of the whole of PolyGram N.V.; cleared on 21 September 1998, closed on 10 December 1998, and ended when Seagram itself became part of Vivendi Universal on 11 December 2000 |
19+| merged_into | company/universal-music-group | | 1998-12-10 | | | sourced | ^wp-polygram | PolyGram's music operations were folded into Universal Music Group when the Seagram purchase closed on 10 December 1998; the film and television business was broken up and sold on separately |
20+| parent_org | company/vivendi | | 2000-12-11 | | | verified | ^vivendi-20f-2001 | Vivendi Universal S.A. lists PolyGram N.V., organised under Dutch law, among its subsidiaries in its annual report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on 2 July 2001 |
1521<!--/relations-->
1622 
23+## Establishments <!--establishments-->
24+| mark | kind | address | country | source | note |
25+| ---- | ------ | --------------------------------------- | ------- | -------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
26+| | office | Gerrit van der Veenlan 4, 3743 DN Baarn | NL | ^idch-polygram | Head office of PolyGram N.V. as the 1998 International Directory of Company Histories prints it |
27+| | plant | Kings Mountain, North Carolina 28086 | US | ^newyorker | PolyGram's compact-disc pressing plant, over 300,000 square feet on a hundred acres, running around the clock and producing a quarter of a million disks a day on a busy day; it passed to Universal with the 1998 sale |
28+<!--/establishments-->
29+ 
1730## Aliases <!--aliases-->
18−| name | type | locale | from | until |
19−| ------------------------ | ----- | ------ | ---- | ----- |
20−| PolyGram N.V. | legal | | | |
21−| Grammophon-Philips Group | name | | 1962 | 1972 |
31+| name | type | locale | from | until |
32+| ------------------------ | ------ | ------ | ---- | ----- |
33+| PolyGram N.V. | legal | | | |
34+| Grammophon-Philips Group | name | | 1962 | 1972 |
35+| GPG | search | | 1962 | 1972 |
36+| DGG/PPI Record Group | search | | 1962 | 1972 |
37+| PolyGram Records | search | | | |
2238<!--/aliases-->
2339 
40+## Images <!--images-->
41+| asset | kind | source | licence | attribution | url | accessed | note | provider_entity_id | provider_image_id | source_image_url | download_url | retrieved_at | matched_barcode | match_method | match_confidence | original_width | original_height | stored_width | stored_height | upscaled |
42+| ----------------- | ---- | ----------------- | ------------- | ----------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | --------------------- | ------------------ | ----------------- | ---------------- | ------------ | ------------ | --------------- | ------------ | ---------------- | -------------- | --------------- | ------------ | ------------- | -------- |
43+| logo-ba93c43c.png | logo | wikimedia-commons | public-domain | PolyGram | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APolyGram_wordmark.svg | 2026-09-20 | The PolyGram wordmark | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
44+<!--/images-->
45+ 
2446## References <!--references-->
25−| ref | url | title | accessed | publisher | kind | published | record_id | locator | licence | attribution | upstream |
26−| ----------- | ------------------------------------------------- | ------------------- | ---------- | --------- | ----------- | --------- | --------- | ------- | ------------ | ----------- | -------- |
27−| wp-polygram | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PolyGram | PolyGram | 2026-09-18 | Wikipedia | publication | | | Lead | CC BY-SA 4.0 | | |
28−| wp-dg | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Grammophon | Deutsche Grammophon | 2026-09-18 | Wikipedia | publication | | | History | CC BY-SA 4.0 | | |
47+| ref | url | title | accessed | publisher | kind | published | record_id | locator | licence | attribution | upstream |
48+| ---------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | --------------------------------------- | ------------ | ---------- | -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | ------------ | ---------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
49+| ec-m1219 | https://ec.europa.eu/competition/mergers/cases/decisions/m1219_en.pdf | Case No IV/M.1219 - Seagram/Polygram, Article 6(1)(b) decision | 2026-09-20 | European Commission | registry | 1998-09-21 | 398M1219 | Paragraphs 1-7 | | | |
50+| philips-sound | https://www.documents.philips.com/assets/20231127/59827290ddc34167becbb0c700799ff8.pdf | Philips sound heritage | 2026-09-20 | Koninklijke Philips | manufacturer | | | PPI, GPG, PolyGram | | | |
51+| dg-history | https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/company/history | History of Deutsche Grammophon | 2026-09-20 | Deutsche Grammophon | manufacturer | | | The Seventh Decade, The Ninth Decade | | | |
52+| si-history | https://www.siemens.com/global/en/company/about/history/company/1966-1988.html | Company development | 2026-09-20 | Siemens | manufacturer | | | 1966: Siemens AG founded | | | |
53+| idch-polygram | https://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/polygram-n-v-history/ | History of PolyGram N.V. | 2026-09-20 | FundingUniverse | publication | 1998 | | Address, 1985-95: Acquiring Record and Film Companies | | | International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 23, St. James Press |
54+| wp-polygram | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PolyGram | PolyGram | 2026-09-20 | Wikipedia | publication | | | Lead, History | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Wikipedia contributors | |
55+| wp-dg | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Grammophon | Deutsche Grammophon | 2026-09-20 | Wikipedia | publication | | | History | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Wikipedia contributors | |
56+| wp-seagram | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seagram | Seagram | 2026-09-20 | Wikipedia | publication | | | History | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Wikipedia contributors | |
57+| newyorker | https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/04/27/the-man-who-broke-the-music-business | The Man Who Broke the Music Business | 2026-09-20 | The New Yorker | publication | 2015-04-27 | | Kings Mountain | | Stephen Witt | |
58+| vivendi-20f-2001 | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1127055/000095012301504067/y50722ex99-8_1.txt | Vivendi Universal annual report on Form 20-F, Exhibit 8.1: Subsidiaries | 2026-09-23 | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | registry | 2001-07-02 | 0000950123-01-504067 | PolyGram N.V. (NLD) | | | |
2959<!--/references-->
3060 
3161## About <!--about-->
32−PolyGram N.V. was the Dutch-German record and entertainment group that Philips and Siemens founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group to hold their record companies; it was renamed PolyGram in 1972 after the Siemens interest Polydor Records and the Philips interest Phonogram Records, and it traced its own origins through Deutsche Grammophon back to Emile Berliner, the inventor of the flat disc gramophone.[^wp-polygram] Deutsche Grammophon was the Siemens side of that holding and remained a PolyGram company until Seagram bought PolyGram in May 1998 and folded its music operations into Universal Music Group; UMG revived the name in February 2017 for its film and television arm PolyGram Entertainment.[^wp-polygram] The page exists here as the former owner listed on the Deutsche Grammophon company page.[^wp-dg]
62+PolyGram N.V. was the Dutch record and entertainment group that held Deutsche Grammophon, Polydor, Phonogram, Mercury, Decca, Island and A&M. Philips and Siemens & Halske founded it in 1962, when Philips Phonografische Industrie merged with Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft to form the Grammophon-Philips Group, each parent holding half; it was renamed PolyGram in 1972, after the Siemens interest Polydor Records and the Philips interest Phonogram Records, and traced its own line through Deutsche Grammophon back to Emile Berliner, the inventor of the flat disc gramophone.[^philips-sound][^wp-polygram] The German half passed to Siemens AG on 1 October 1966, when Siemens & Halske was merged into it,[^si-history] and Siemens sold the last of its interest in 1987;[^dg-history] Philips then held the group alone until it floated a minority on the Amsterdam exchange in 1989, and sold PolyGram to the Canadian drinks and entertainment group Seagram in 1998.[^wp-polygram][^philips-sound]
63+ 
64+Philips announced the sale on 22 May 1998, and the European Commission cleared it on 21 September 1998, recording PolyGram N.V. as a subsidiary of Philips N.V. of which The Seagram Company Ltd. would acquire the whole; PolyGram's 1997 world-wide turnover was ECU 5,019 million against Seagram's ECU 10,183 million.[^ec-m1219] Philips Electronics held 75 per cent of the listed company in 1997, and PolyGram's shares traded in Amsterdam and New York.[^idch-polygram] Philips' legal name at the time was Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.[^wp-polygram] The deal closed on 10 December 1998: the music operations went into Universal Music Group, while the film and television business was broken up, the pre-1996 film library going to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and the domestic film division to USA Networks.[^wp-polygram] Among the assets that passed with the sale was PolyGram's compact-disc plant at Kings Mountain, North Carolina.[^newyorker] Seagram itself ceased to exist on 11 December 2000, when its entertainment business became part of Vivendi Universal.[^wp-seagram] Vivendi Universal's annual report on Form 20-F, filed in July 2001, lists PolyGram N.V., organised under Dutch law, among its subsidiaries.[^vivendi-20f-2001] Universal Music Group revived the name in February 2017 for its film and television arm, PolyGram Entertainment.[^wp-polygram]
65+ 
66+Two company histories agree on the year the Siemens holding ended. Deutsche Grammophon's own account says Siemens sold 40 per cent of its half share in PolyGram International to Philips at the end of 1984 and that Philips bought the remaining 10 per cent in 1987.[^dg-history] The International Directory of Company Histories gives the same two steps, dating the 40 per cent to 1985 and the last 10 per cent to 1987, after which Philips owned the company completely.[^idch-polygram] The Wikipedia article on PolyGram carries that sequence too, but in a later passage dates the purchase of a remaining 50 per cent to 1988, while the Wikipedia article on Deutsche Grammophon gives 1987.[^wp-polygram][^wp-dg] The two histories differ on the first tranche, which one puts at the end of 1984 and the other in 1985.[^dg-history][^idch-polygram]
3367<!--/about-->

Source of v1

# PolyGram <!--company-->

## Identity <!--identity-->
name: PolyGram
summary: Dutch-German record and entertainment group formed by Philips and Siemens in 1962, renamed PolyGram in 1972 and sold to Seagram in 1998.
legal_name: PolyGram N.V.
country: NL
founded: 1962
<!--/identity-->

## Relations <!--relations-->
| role        | target                        | market | from | until | ended | status  | source       | note                                                                                                            |
| ----------- | ----------------------------- | ------ | ---- | ----- | ----- | ------- | ------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| merged_into | company/universal-music-group |        | 1998 |       |       | sourced | ^wp-polygram | PolyGram's music operations were folded into Universal Music Group after Seagram bought the company in May 1998 |
<!--/relations-->

## Aliases <!--aliases-->
| name                     | type  | locale | from | until |
| ------------------------ | ----- | ------ | ---- | ----- |
| PolyGram N.V.            | legal |        |      |       |
| Grammophon-Philips Group | name  |        | 1962 | 1972  |
<!--/aliases-->

## References <!--references-->
| ref         | url                                               | title               | accessed   | publisher | kind        | published | record_id | locator | licence      | attribution | upstream |
| ----------- | ------------------------------------------------- | ------------------- | ---------- | --------- | ----------- | --------- | --------- | ------- | ------------ | ----------- | -------- |
| wp-polygram | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PolyGram            | PolyGram            | 2026-09-18 | Wikipedia | publication |           |           | Lead    | CC BY-SA 4.0 |             |          |
| wp-dg       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Grammophon | Deutsche Grammophon | 2026-09-18 | Wikipedia | publication |           |           | History | CC BY-SA 4.0 |             |          |
<!--/references-->

## About <!--about-->
PolyGram N.V. was the Dutch-German record and entertainment group that Philips and Siemens founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group to hold their record companies; it was renamed PolyGram in 1972 after the Siemens interest Polydor Records and the Philips interest Phonogram Records, and it traced its own origins through Deutsche Grammophon back to Emile Berliner, the inventor of the flat disc gramophone.[^wp-polygram] Deutsche Grammophon was the Siemens side of that holding and remained a PolyGram company until Seagram bought PolyGram in May 1998 and folded its music operations into Universal Music Group; UMG revived the name in February 2017 for its film and television arm PolyGram Entertainment.[^wp-polygram] The page exists here as the former owner listed on the Deutsche Grammophon company page.[^wp-dg]
<!--/about-->