Apollo announced that it has provided a $700 million “capital solution” to Sony Music Group for investment in the music industry. Could this have something to do with the rumored purchase of the Queen catalogue?
Two weeks ago, multiple sources told Variety that Sony Music was potentially looking to buy the Queen music catalogue for £1 billion ($1.27 billion). The only revenue not covered in the deal would be live performances, with founding members Brian May and Roger Taylor retaining the income from live performances they make while touring with Adam Lambert. The report said that other companies had expressed interest in bidding for the catalogue, but fell short of a $1 billion offer, leaving Sony Music with an interest in worldwide publishing rights, name and likeness rights, and recorded music rights.
“We are pleased to provide a bespoke capital solution to an affiliate of one of the world's leading companies. This investment enables our client to invest in highly rated securities while helping Sony execute on its business plan,” Jamshid Ehsani, a partner at Apollo, said in a statement.
The firm is a global alternative asset manager with several ties to the music industry. It is also a funder of music IP investment firm Harborview Equity Partners, which was founded in 2021. Apollo also recently acquired CKx. Inc, owner of 19 Entertainment, which produces entertainment productions such as American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance.
In 2022, Apollo also structured a major asset-backed securities transaction for Concord, a $1.8 billion bond offering based on Concord's music rights catalog of about 1 million songs. Concord recently exited a bidding war for the Hipgnosis Songs Fund, which Blackstone won, but Apollo had previously put in both debt and a minority stake to set up the deal.
Apollo has approximately $671 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2024. Apollo serves clients with a focus on three investment strategies: yield, hybrid and equity.