LONDON (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Music publisher BMG has announced plans to join the recent mergers and acquisitions frenzy with the purchase of their UK rival Chrysalis for a cool $167.1 million, 46% over the company's traded share price at the time of the agreement.
BMG, a joint venture between German media giant Bertelsmann and the private equity shop Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. (KKR), has been working diligently to rebuild position as a major player in the music rights management business. BMG sold its original music publishing and rights operations to Sony Music in 2008 for $1.5 billion to pay off debt.
The Chrysalis acquisition will boost BMG's titles under management by nearly 25% to more than 325,000. Artists included with Chrysalis include Michael Jackson and the Black Eyed Peas among numerous others.
Chrysalis chairman and co-founder Chris Wright will join BMG as a non-executive chairman
"Today’s deal marks the end of one era and the start of another for Chrysalis, a company which has been at the heart of the music industry since I founded it jointly with my original partner, Terry Ellis, more than four decades ago. Our continued progress – evolving from management, recorded music, television and radio to focus on music publishing – has been clearly recognised by BMG. As we embark together on the next chapter of the Chrysalis story, I am proud of both our track record and our future prospects in an industry in which we have both innovated and pioneered." said Chrysalis co-founder Chris Wright in a statement. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
