Warner Music Group resumes $1.8bn IPO after coroanvirus
Ed Sheeran’s record label Warner Music Group (WMG) is seeking to raise $1.8bn (£1.5bn) as it restarts its initial public offering (IPO) process after it was interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement, WMG today said it would seek to sell 70m shares – 14 per cent of the company – at a targeted price of $23 to $26.
This would give the company a valuation of between $11.7bn and $13.3bn, almost four times what billionaire Len Blavatnik paid for it in 2011.
The firm will list on New York’s Nasdaq bourse.
The group, which also represents artists like Lizzo and Bruno Mars, was due to list in March, but suspended plans due to the spread of the disease.
Its announcement that it was now ready to go ahead with the sale makes it one of the first firms to debut in what will be a key test of the market’s post-coronavirus appetite.
Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, and Goldman Sachs are acting as joint bookrunners for the sale, which is expected on 2 June.
The offering will consist entirely of secondary shares to be sold by Access Industries, LLC and other selling stockholders.
WMG posted a loss of $74m in its results for the last quarter, swinging from a profit of $67m in the same period the year before.
Although the recorded music industry is expected to more resilient to the crisis than many sectors, the firm has warned that the pandemic has damaged physical sales and the release of new recordings and films.