THE BUSINESS + GAME
Warner Music Group Plans to Go Public
Feb
Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC are acting as the joint lead underwriters for the offering.
Warner Music Group on Thursday announced that it has submitted paperwork to begin an initial public offering of its common stock.
The number of shares of common stock to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC are acting as the joint lead underwriters for the offering.
Warner Music Group’s recorded music division generated $3.84 billion of revenue in fiscal year 2019, representing 86 percent of total revenues, according to the filing. The division is home to such artists as Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars and Cardi B, and includes storied labels like Atlantic, Elektra, Warner Music Nashville and the recently rebranded Warner Records.
Its publishing arm, Warner Chappell Music, has a catalog of more than 1.4 million copyrights, including from songwriters like Twenty One Pilots, Lizzo and Katy Perry. It generated $643 million of revenue in 2019, or 14 percent of total revenues.
The company is also home to global music distribution company Alternative Distribution Alliance, live music app Songkick, EMP Merchandising and UPROXX.
Warner Music Group is owned by multi-billionaire Len Blavatnik’s U.S.-based industrial group, Access Industries LLC, which purchased the company in July 2011 for $3.3 billion.
