LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Village Roadshow Entertainment has closed on a deal to sell the eclectic Concord Music Group to a Connecticut-based private equity firm Wood Creek.
The acquisition is being made on behalf of investment funds which Wood Creek advises, and an individual investor group that includes members of Concord’s senior management and industry veterans Steve Smith and Scott Pascucci.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed but sources close to the sale told Variety that the sale was worth about $120 million.
Concord president & CEO Glen Barros will retain his post following the sale and Norman Lear, the label's current chairman will become chairman emeritus.
Founded in 1973 as a jazz label, Concord's active roster features artists such as Sir Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Alison Krauss, Chick Corea, James Taylor, Carole King, George Benson, Kenny G, Steve Martin, Ben Harper and Esperanza Spalding. Their back catalog has grown to include John Coltrane, John Fogerty, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Ray Charles, Miles Davis, Little Richard, Otis Redding, Thelonious Monk, Isaac Hayes, Ella Fitzgerald and Tony Bennett and the company’s family of labels includes Concord Records, Concord Jazz, Hear Music, Fantasy, Stax, Milestone, Riverside, Specialty, Telarc, Heads Up, Prestige and famed American roots label Rounder Records. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
