Warner Music drops plans to bid for France's Believe

(Reuters) -Warner Music Group will not submit an offer to acquire French digital music company Believe, the music label said in a statement on Saturday.

Warner Music had revealed plans last month to submit a bid of at least 17 euros ($18.42) per share for Believe, valuing it at 1.65 billion euros ($1.79 billion), topping an earlier takeover bid from a consortium.

The consortium, made up of Believe's largest shareholders, had offered 15 euros per share for the company, pegging its value at around 1.52 billion euros, an offer that was backed by the company's board of directors.

Believe said in a statement it will "review the situation with all interested parties (including the consortium) to determine next steps in relation to the possible evolution of the company’s control."

Home to music labels such as TuneCore, Naive and Nuclear Blast, Believe works with musicians and music labels to help build up their brand via social media and put their work on streaming music platforms. The company was founded in 2005 by Denis Ladegaillerie.

($1 = 0.9229 euros)

(Reporting by Utkarsh Shetti in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Marguerita Choy)