In one huge play, Concord becomes one of the world’s biggest music publishers
In one huge play, Concord Bicycle Music joins the head pack of the world’s biggest music publishers.
Concord has acquired Netherlands-based independent publisher Imagem in a deal reportedly worth almost US$600 million, a multiple of about 12-time its Net Publisher Share (NPS) and roughly US$50-$100 million more than BMG had previously put on the table.
For that chunk of cash, Concord adds some 250,000 titles to its portfolio including control of the Rodgers & Hammerstein and Boosey & Hawkes catalogs, as well as either the global or European rights to such songwriters as Kaiser Chiefs, Justin Timberlake, Pink Floyd, Phil Collins and Daft Punk, plus Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musicals and classical works by Stravinsky and Copland.
The transaction was first reported by the New York Times.
With Imagem’s assets brought into the fold, Concord Bicycle’s company’s valuation grows almost double to “nearly $1 billion,” with revenue projected at $290 million this year on a pro forma basis, the company’s L.A.-based CEO Scott Pascucci told The Times. Concord’s publishing division now controls upwards of 380,000 works. “This deal gives us scale,” he adds. “It gives us more stability, allows us to continue to grow.”
Imagem, which was founded by the Dutch pension fund ABP and the media company CTM Publishing, first offered itself for sale in 2014 with a pricetag of $650 million. Established in 2007, the company grew to become one of the largest indie publishers on the planet through acquisitions which included deals for Rondor, Zomba, and 19 Music. The company was put up for auction and then taken off the block in 2014 when its reps couldn’t secure a satisfactory bid. As news of this mega-deal filters across the industry, businesses keen to offload publishing assets will no doubt be keen to test the waters.
This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.
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