Universal Music Group is on an acquisition spree this week, bolstering its already star-studded catalogue with even more hits and doubling down on its 'superfans' strategy.
📀 Chord Music Partners: Universal Music Group has acquired a 25.8% minority stake in Chord Music Partners for $250 million, valuing Chord at $1.85 billion. This partnership involves UMG and Dundee Partners, forming a long-term strategic alliance to manage Chord's rights globally and potentially acquire more catalogues in the future.
Chord was established in 2021 by KKR and Dundee Partners, boasting a portfolio of roughly 60,000 music intellectual properties from renowned artists like The Weeknd, David Guetta, and others. UMG plans to administer Chord's music publishing rights through Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) and its recorded music through Virgin Music Group. KKR will exit Chord once the transaction is complete, with the Dundee consortium and UMG owning 74.2% and 25.8%, respectively.
🏪 Complex: Universal Music Group, along with NTWRK, a 'Live Video Shopping' platform, is acquiring a stake in Complex, a youth-oriented media platform. This is the second time that Complex has been acquired in recent years, with it being sold to BuzzFeed for $294 million in November 2021. BuzzFeed confirmed itself that NTWRK (along with a consortium) has agreed to buy Complex Networks for $108.6 million.
According to UMG's press release, the acquisition aims 'to create a new destination for “superfan” culture that will define the future of commerce, digital media, and music.'
I have always been impressed by UMG's bets on the future and the larger picture, always one step ahead of the curve. I am putting the links to both press releases in the comments below.
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Exciting times ahead, here's to continued success! 👏 👏