Concord Raises $600M for Continued Expansion, Assigned B1/B+ Corporate Ratings

After receiving first-time corporate credit ratings of B1 and B+from Moody’s and S&P last month, Concord announced today that it has closed on a $600 million term loan B debt offering which, in addition to its existing $450 million revolving credit facility, provides the company with access to over $1 billion of total debt financing, further cementing its position as the world’s most significant independent music and theatrical rights company.

The term loan B offering, which was placed with 90 investment firms by J.P. Morgan, was upsized from an initially proposed $400 million issuance due to more than 6x oversubscription after a two-week marketing process. Proceeds from the new debt will be used to partially pay down the company’s revolving credit facility, allowing for significant additional capital availability for future acquisitions and working capital.

Bob Valentine, Concord’s CFO, remarked, “This highly successful debt offering is further validation that institutional investors believe in Concord’s long-term strategy of building one of the preeminent independent music companies in the world. It also shows that those investors are hungry to invest in timeless music content with global appeal that can be legitimately accessed and enjoyed by consumers everywhere, in more diverse and readily available ways than at any time in history. We are especially appreciative of our financing partner of over 20 years, J.P. Morgan, for their continued support in the evolution of our company, and are thrilled to share yet another milestone with them.”

“For more than two decades J.P. Morgan has had the pleasure of working with Concord and watching them evolve to become the preeminent independent music company they are today,” said David Shaheen, Head of Entertainment Industries and West Region for J.P. Morgan’s Corporate Client Banking and Specialized Industries business. “Concord’s success is a testament to the quality of their management and strength of sponsorship, we look forward to helping them build on their numerous accomplishments.”

Concord has increased its revenue nearly four-fold over the last five years, due to organic growth and strategic acquisitions to which it has committed over $1 billion since 2017. In January, Concord acquired a substantial equity position in PULSE Music Group, one of today’s hottest music publishers, signaling the company’s move into chart-focused A&R. PULSE’s roster is responsible for four Hot 100 #1 hits this year and includes Kehlani, Starrah, Ty Dolla $ign, BloodPop, Flo Milli and Trevor Daniel whose new single “Falling” hit #1 at Top 40 Radio and has been certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA. Last month, Concord signed songwriting superstar Hillary Lindsey to an exclusive worldwide co-publishing agreement with regard to her future works while also acquiring an interest in her back catalog and forming a new joint venture to develop upcoming country songwriters. Lindsey’s catalog includes eleven #1 singles with Carrie Underwood as well as chart-toppers for Luke Bryan, Lady A, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban and more. And, just yesterday, Concord announced the purchase of the publishing catalog of pop-rock behemoth Imagine Dragons, including four singles that each hit 1 billion streams on Spotify among them the RIAA Diamond single “Radioactive.”

“We couldn’t be happier with the results that the J.P. Morgan team achieved for us in this transaction. Their execution was flawless, and it is very satisfying to see Concord’s hard work and strategic growth of the past few years be so well-received by such a large group of sophisticated financial institutions,” commented Concord CEO Scott Pascucci.

These 2020 transactions follow Concord’s recent acquisitions of various genre-defining recorded music and publishing companies such as Musart, Fania, Independiente, Varese Sarabande, Victory Records and Sikorski Music Publishing. Over the past three years, Concord has also created an industry-leading theatricals licensing company, Concord Theatricals, by combining The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, which it acquired as part of its industry-transforming acquisition of Imagem in 2017, with the iconic works of Andrew Lloyd Webber, and the Tams-Witmark and Samuel French licensing houses.

DLA Piper represented Concord in this transaction.

ABOUT CONCORD

Concord is a private company funded by long-term institutional capital and members of Concord’s management team. https://concord.com

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Contact information

Kelly Voigt, kelly.voigt@concord.com, 629-401-3906