Bertelsmann's BMG, KKR team up to acquire music rights
24/03/2021 11:00
BERLIN, March 24 (Reuters) - Global music publisher BMG said
on Wednesday it was teaming up with private equity house KKR
KKR.N to acquire music rights, following on from its recent
deal to acquire the back catalogue of British rocker Mick
Fleetwood.
The alliance seeks to capitalise on the boom in music
streaming that has given retirement gifts to veteran
singer-songwriters like Bob Dylan and Neil Young, enabling them
to sell a share of royalties to specialist investors.
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“BMG and KKR can jointly pursue opportunities for
acquisitions of major catalogues of music rights from now on,"
Bertelsmann CEO Thomas Rabe said in a statement.
"Together with KKR, we are ideally positioned to make
attractive offers to rights owners.”
KKR has built a string of partnerships with German houses,
participating in the creation of BMG in 2008 and, more recently,
helping take news and classifieds publisher Axel Springer
private.
The latest music rights venture will not entail any transfer
or sale of BMG shares or the formation of a joint venture, the
companies said.
(Reporting by Douglas Busvine, editing by Emma Thomasson)
((douglas.busvine@tr.com; +49 30 220 133 562;))