21-09-2010 @ 15:25
BMG Rights Management continues to deliver on its growth strategy: Fourth major add-on acquisition in 2010 Adds rights of hits like “U Can’t Touch This”, “Cocaine”, “You Are So Beautiful” and “Remember The Time” to BMG portfolio Trilantic Capital Partners, Evergreen’s controlling shareholder, to become co-investor of BMG – investment ratio of joint venture partners KKR and Bertelsmann unchanged
BMG Rights Management (”BMG”) announced sept 20 the signing of a Purchase Agreement with funds managed by Trilantic Capital Partners and other sellers under which BMG has agreed to acquire Evergreen Copyright Acquisitions LLC.
Evergreen Copyrights is a US-based full service independent music company. Founded by Richard Perna (former COO of Hamstein Music), David Schulhof (former Motion Picture Music Executive at Miramax and Dimension Films), and Joel Katz (Chair Global Media and Entertainment Practice, Greenberg Traurig), the firm has grown to become a sector leader in the US with over 65,000 titles across diverse genres.
“We are excited to add another highly-regarded rights catalogue to our portfolio. Evergreen is known for its successful rights acquisition track record. With this acquisition BMG continues its growth path to become one of the leading global music rights players”, said Hartwig Masuch, CEO of BMG Rights Management.
Schulhof and Perna, Co-CEOs of Evergreen, stated: “We are proud of the company we have built and thank all of the great songwriters and artists we’ve had the opportunity to work with. We wish to thank Trilantic Capital Partners for their unwavering support as we built Evergreen into the well-established global music publisher it is today. Most of all, we would like to thank all of our exceptional employees, without whom we could not have built this great company. We wish BMG continued success. We are very honored that they have selected Evergreen to join their growing family.”
Evergreen Copyrights holds the rights to a variety of compositions performed by MC Hammer, Eric Clapton, Teddy Riley, Nick Drake, Bill Monroe and 2Pac. It also includes interests in compositions written by Emmy-nominated TV writer and producer Scott Schreer. Acquired music rights include well-known pieces such as “U Can’t Touch This”, “Cocaine”, “Kiss Me’”, John Waite’s “Missing You”, Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful” and Michael Jackson’s “Remember The Time”.
Following the acquisition of Cherry Lane and the Adage IV catalogue in the US and more recently of UK headquartered Stage Three Music, this is the fourth acquisition of significant size in 2010 for BMG, which now controls and administers more than 200,000 songrights and masterrights. The closing of the Evergreen transaction is expected to be completed at the beginning of October.
Following this transaction, Trilantic Capital Partners will reinvest part of its proceeds to acquire a single-digit stake in BMG. This move does not affect the operational business and the partnership structure of the joint venture. The investment ratio of the lead partners Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) and Bertelsmann AG will remain unchanged.
“Trilantic’s co-investment in BMG validates the attractiveness of our joint venture. We are pleased that we have found another partner who shares our view of the opportunities in the evolving music industry”, said Thomas Rabe, BMG Chairman.
“We are extremely pleased with the accomplishments of the Evergreen management team, who have done an outstanding job in growing the business,” said Charlie Ayres, founding partner and chairman of Trilantic Capital Partners. “We are thrilled to embark on a new joint venture partnership with KKR and Bertelsmann as we look for new opportunities for growth in the global music rights business.”
About BMG Rights Management
BMG is an international group of music companies focused on the management of music rights. BMG covers the entire range of rights administration, development and exploitation, placing the needs of songwriters and artists at the core of its business model. Since its founding in late 2008, BMG has established a presence in eight core music markets and represent the rights of more than 200,000 songs and recordings.
BMG Rights Management is a joint venture between the international media company Bertelsmann and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., a leading global alternative asset manager. www.bmg.com
About Trilantic Capital Partners
Trilantic Capital Partners is a private equity firm focused on control and significant minority investments in North America and Europe. Trilantic was formed in 2009 by the former principals of Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking, where they created a strong track record of investing in and building first-class businesses. Trilantic currently manages two institutional private equity funds with an aggregate capital commitment of $3.9 billion. www.trilanticpartners.com