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发表于 2014-12-27 15:26:58
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Sony Reportedly Considering Sale of Music Publishing Division
The Hollywood Reporter By Ed Christman, Billboard
December 24, 2014 12:03 AM
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Sony Corp. has been considering a sale of its music publishing operation, according to a Bloomberg report on the latest leak of hacked Sony emails.
The details of the Sony/ATV Music Publishing's potential sale were being handled by Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton, Sony Corp. of America president Nicole Seligman and Sony Corp. of America CFO Steve Kober, according to Bloomberg, which cited an email from Kober dated Nov. 21.
In an Oct. 3 email, Bloomberg reports, Sony CFO Kenichro Yoshida raised concerns about the music publishing business, "which has a rather complex capital and governance structure and is impacted by the market shift to streaming."
Sony/ATV is a 50/50 joint-venture between Sony Corp. and the Michael Jackson estate. In addition, those two partners also own a combined 39.8 percent -- 29.8 percentage points by Sony and almost 10 percentage points by the Jackson estate -- of EMI Music Publishing, thanks to a consortium put together by then-Sony Corp. of America CFO Rob Wiesenthal. That consortium, which also consists of Mubadala Development, Jynwel Capital Ltd., the Blackstone Group's GSO Partners and David Geffen, paid $2.2 billion in June 2012 for EMI's publishing catalog.
Sony/ATV and EMI's publishing assets include such crown jewels as the former's Beatles catalog and the latter's Motown catalog. Sony/ATV sees revenues of about $510 million on its own and another $115 for administrating EMI's catalogue, which has revenues of about $725 million itself.
Further details of the sale plan -- including possible suitors -- are unknown, the Bloomberg report noted. So it couldn't be determined if Sony was looking to sell all of its publishing assets, or its portion of the EMI Music Publishing catalog. It's also unclear if the subject of Sony selling its portion of EMI has been broached with the rest of the consortium.
In any event, if all the publishing assets were put up for sale, knowledgeable industry sources tell Billboard its unlikely that EU regulators would let Universal Music Group make such an acquisition. Likewise, the Warner Music Group would also face regulatory difficulties if it tried an outright acquisition of the combined publishing assets. The only reason the EU let Sony/ATV buy EMI originally is because it was as part of a consortium, and it made it sell off about $100 million in publishing assets at the time.
See more Hollywood's Most Fascinating Legal Sagas, From Casey Kasem to Michael Jackson
More likely suitors for all of the publishing would include either private equity firms, or a major film studio like Disney, or Bertelsmann-owned BMG Rights Management, a growing power once again in the music business.
But for the exception that the EMI retains its own financial accounting department, the Sony/ATV and EMI staffs have been combined into one team that promotes both catalogs. As such, it seems unlikely that a private equity firm could acquire the EMI catalog without also purchasing Sony/ATV and its staff. If the sellers want to obtain an optimum price, it would need a plethora of potential suitors, so it likely would have to sell all the publishing assets. Billboard estimates a sale of both catalogs would bring in about $3 billion-$3.5 billion.
A Sony/ATV spokesman declined comment on the report. John Branco, who co-manages the Jackson estate, didn't respond to a request to comment.
Someone had better call Paul McCartney.
Sony is considering putting its lucrative music publishing business, which owns the rights to the Beatles back catalog, on the block.
The Japanese electronics and entertainment giant discussed a possible sale of Sony/ATV — half-owned by Michael Jackson’s estate — as recently as Nov. 21, according to emails exposed by hackers.
Sony declined to comment on the emails, which were first reported by Bloomberg News.
Music execs had already heard whispers that Sony might consider selling the business, in part because it’s unhappy with the complex ownership structure.
“I think Paul McCartney would buy it and [Warner Music owner] Len Blavatnik, but most likely you’ll have a consortium of folks,” said one source.
Billionaire media mogul David Geffen, who is a part-owner of the business, might also be interested.
Sony/ATV was formed in 1995 as a joint venture between Sony and Jackson. As the world’s biggest music publisher, it houses many of McCartney’s copyrights. The former Beatle lost out on his song catalog in a bidding war against the late king of pop.
Universal Music Group, which just hired Sony/ATV’s No. 2 Jody Gerson to run its publishing unit, may take a look, although it’s unclear if regulators would allow further consolidation after Universal swallowed EMI’s recorded music unit two years ago.
The value on the Sony/ATV asset alone is between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, a source said.
Sony/ATV also has a 30 percent stake in a separate music publishing business that was acquired for $2.2 billion from EMI.
The other owners include Blackstone’s GSO Capital, Mubadala Development Co. and Jynwel Capital. Sony is said to have agreed that the partners would have an option to fully acquire the asset at a later date.
Together, Sony/ATV and EMI Publishing own 2.8 million song copyrights, including those of Taylor Swift.
Top-secret corporate email conversations show that Sony’s chief financial officer, Kenichiro Yoshida, asked about selling the business in an email to Sony Corp. boss Kaz Hirai and Sony’s US chief Michael Lynton.
“I’d like to hear your thoughts on the Music Publishing business, which has a rather complex capital and governance structure and is impacted by the market shift to streaming,” Yoshida wrote.
The Sony unit, run by Martin Bandier, expects sales to rise 13 percent over the next three years, to $617 million, in 2018, according to internal documents cited by Bloomberg. Operating profit will grow 23 percent to $123 million over the same period.
http://news.yahoo.com/sony-consi ... SDAVp5UdTIAZyzQtDMD
(Reuters) - Sony Corp is considering a sale of its Sony/ATV Music Publishing unit, which owns the rights to most of the Beatles' songs, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing the company's leaked internal emails.
The unit, which Sony owns jointly with deceased pop star Michael Jackson's estate, is estimated to be worth $1.5 billion-$2 billion, the Journal said.
Sony/ATV Music declined to comment on the report.
It is currently not clear if Sony will sell its stake in the unit or the entire business will be put on the block, the Journal said.
The leaked documents do not indicate an expected price and the timing of a potential sale, the newspaper said.
Sony is still reeling from the disclosures in documents released by computer hackers, which have exposed internal discussions key to the company's future to public scrutiny.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/so ... SDAVp5UdTIAWCzQtDMD
Sony Planned to Sell Music-Publishing Unit Owning Beatles
Bloomberg By Lucas Shaw and Christopher Palmeri
December 23, 2014 6:51 PM
Sony Corp. (SNE) was considering the sale of its music-publishing business, including a partnership with Michael Jackson's estate that owns the Beatles catalog, as recently as last month, e-mails released by hackers show.
The "top secret" plan was being handled in the U.S. by Sony Entertainment Chief Executive Officer Michael Lynton, Sony Corp. of America President Nicole Seligman and their U.S. Chief Financial Officer Steve Kober, according to a Nov. 21 e-mail from Kober. The company had concluded the business had few growth prospects.
Top management at Tokyo-based Sony was concerned about the complex ownership and governance of the business, whose owners also include billionaire David Geffen and Abu Dhabi investors. Details of the sale plan, including possible terms or suitors, couldn't be determined. The documents were released as part of the cyber-attack on Sony over the movie "The Interview."
Katie Schroeder, a spokeswoman for Sony at Rubenstein Communications, declined to comment.
Publishing accounts for 14 percent of Sony's music revenue, the main part being recorded music. Sony Corp. (6758)'s Chief Financial Officer Kenichiro Yoshida raised questions about the future of music publishing in an Oct. 3 e-mail to his boss, CEO Kazuo Hirai, and Lynton, in a prelude to a meeting of the three, according to messages released by the hackers.
"I'd like to hear your thoughts on the Music Publishing business, which has a rather complex capital and governance structure and is impacted by the market shift to streaming," Yoshida wrote in the message.
Sony Deliberations
Sony's deliberations on the publishing business were included in a planning document sent to at least half a dozen Sony executives, according to the Nov. 21 e-mail. That included a presentation that outlined they were considering the sale.
"We are very surprised that the attached listing includes the comment about the sale of Sony/ATV," Kober wrote. "As you know quite well, this is a top-secret project that is being handled by me working directly with Michael and Nicole."
Sony's American depositary receipts rose 0.4 percent to $20.86 on Dec. 23 in New York. They have advanced 21 percent this year.
The publishing division includes Sony/ATV Music Publishing and EMI Music Publishing.
Music Mergers
Sony/ATV was established in 1995 as a joint venture between Sony and Jackson, who had acquired ATV 10 years earlier. Former Beatle Paul McCartney had also tried to purchase the catalog.
In 2012, Sony paid $2.2 billion for the larger EMI Music Publishing, along with investors including Jackson's estate, Blackstone Group's GSO Capital Partners LP, Geffen and Mubadala Development Co. owned by the Abu Dhabi government. Sony/ATV administers EMI on behalf of the investors. Messages left for Geffen, Mubadala and Blackstone weren't returned.
Music publishers collect royalties from album sales, use on TV and other performances. The combined Sony publishing business represents stars from Bruce Springsteen to Lady Gaga and more than 2 million songs, including "New York, New York," "Jailhouse Rock" and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine."
The Japanese company and Jackson's estate each own half of Sony/ATV, which owns more than 750,000 songs, according to a press release from 2012. EMI Music Publishing, in which Sony holds a 30 percent stake, has 1.3 million songs in its catalog.
Together, Sony/ATV and EMI represent the world's biggest music publishing business, with Sony estimating a global market share of more than 30 percent.
The music publishing business generates about $500 million in annual revenue and $100 million in operating profit, according to a mid-range plan of Sony's music business in October that was released by the hackers.
Publishing Growth
Sony's music-publishing business will probably see sales rise 13 percent over three years to $617 million by fiscal year 2018, according to the mid-range plan circulated internally. Operating profit may rise 23 percent to $123 million during that period.
The e-mails were released as part of a devastating hack on Sony that the FBI said was committed by North Korea over the Hollywood studio's plan to release the satirical movie "The Interview," about an assassination plot against the nation's leader, Kim Jong Un.
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