Access Industries has agreed a deal to acquire Warner Music Group in an all-cash transaction valued at $3.3 billion.\u00a0 The purchase includes WMG\u2019s entire recorded music and music publishing businesses.<\/p>\n
[Update: the deal was completed on July 20, 2011 for $8.25 per share in cash.]<\/em><\/p>\n The purchase price of $8.25 per share represents a 34.4% premium over the volume-weighted average share price of $6.14 over the previous six months.<\/p>\n Under the terms of the merger agreement, WMG\u2019s stockholders will receive $8.25 per share in cash at the closing of the transaction.<\/p>\n WMG\u2019s Board of Directors approved the transaction and recommended that WMG\u2019s stockholders approve the transaction.\u00a0 In addition to stockholder approval, the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.\u00a0 It is anticipated that the transaction will be completed in the third calendar quarter of this year.<\/p>\n “Access supports Warner Music\u2019s commitment to our recording artists and songwriters who are the foundation of our current and future success.\u201d WMG\u2019s Chairman and CEO, Edgar Bronfman, Jr., said, \u201cWe believe this transaction is an exceptional value-maximizing opportunity that serves the best interests of stockholders as well as the best interests of music fans, our recording artists and songwriters, and the wonderful people of this company.<\/p>\n “We are delighted that Access will be the new steward of this outstanding business.\u00a0 They are supportive of the company\u2019s vision, growth strategy and artists, while bringing a fresh entrepreneurial perspective and expertise in technology and media.\u00a0 Most importantly, Access supports Warner Music\u2019s commitment to our recording artists and songwriters who are the foundation of our current and future success.\u201d<\/p>\n Len Blavatnik, Chairman and founder of Access Industries, said, \u201cI am excited to extend my longstanding involvement with Warner Music.\u00a0 It is a great company with a strong heritage and home to many exceptional artists.\u00a0 I look forward to working closely with the many talented people within the company.\u201d<\/p>\n Jorg Mohaupt, Head of Media at Access Industries, added, \u201cThe music industry is at an inflection point where digital adoption is rapidly gaining momentum.\u00a0 Warner Music, as one of the most progressive forces in the music business, is well positioned to capture this opportunity for music creation and distribution.\u201d<\/p>\n Scott Sperling, Presiding Director of WMG, said, \u201cIt has been our great pleasure working with the extraordinary team at Warner Music over these past seven years.\u00a0 The company has managed to significantly increase market share and profitability during our ownership period and consistently outperformed even during a challenging period for the industry. Len Blavatnik and Access are likewise deeply committed to the music business and we know that we will be leaving the company in good hands.\u201d<\/p>\n Following the closing of the transaction, WMG will become a privately held company and its stock will no longer be traded on the New York Stock Exchange.\u00a0 The company will retain the Warner Music Group name and will continue to operate out of its current facilities.<\/p>\n Thomas H. Lee Partners L.P. and its affiliates, Bain Capital Partners, LLC and its affiliates, and Edgar Bronfman, Jr., who together hold approximately 56% of the company\u2019s outstanding shares, have entered into a voting agreement with Access under which those stockholders have agreed to vote their shares in favor of the merger.<\/p>\n Access has secured committed financing from Credit Suisse and UBS Investment Bank.\u00a0 These funds, in addition to equity financing from Access, will finance the cash consideration to WMG\u2019s stockholders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Deal looks likely to be closed in Q3<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":348,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[100,397,306],"class_list":["post-803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-labels","tag-len-blavatnik","tag-warner-music"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\nEdgar Bronfman Jr<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n