Reservoir Media, one of the world’s largest and most acquisitive independent music rights companies, could be about to go public.
According to Bloomberg, the New York-headquartered firm is in discussions to merge with Roth Ch Acquisition II Co, a blank-check acquisition entity (commonly known as a Special Purpose Acquisition Company, or SPAC) that trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker ROCCU.
When it announced the IPO of ROCCU in December, Roth Capital said it would “target the business services, consumer, healthcare, technology, wellness or sustainability sectors, specifically companies with enterprise values between $250 million and $1 billion”.
Bloomberg suggests that a successful merger between ROCCU and Reservoir would create a company valued at more than $700 million.
However, talks are believed to be ongoing and could still result in no deal. A Reservoir spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by MBW.
SPACs essentially offer a way for public investors to back venture capital-like acquisitive entities.
The prevalence of SPACs is growing in the music business. Earlier this month, Middle Eastern streaming service Anghami floated on the NASDAQ via a merger with a SPAC, Vistas Media Acquisition Company Inc., which resulted in a combined valuation of $220m.
And in February, former Geffen Records boss Neil Jacobson launched a public SPAC with $200 million to spend, now trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Jacobson’s SPAC is targeting businesses “that are either directly or indirectly connected with the music sector”.
Reservoir Media was founded by Golnar Khosrowshahi in 2007, and represents over 130,000 copyrights and 26,000 master recordings.
The company’s standout acquisitions in recent years have included its buyout of historic US music publishing house Shapiro Bernstein, which Reservoir announced in May 2020.
As a result of that acquisition, Reservoir took possession of over 16,000 copyrights, including songs recorded by The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Michael Jackson, Edith Piaf, Patsy Cline, Bob Dylan, Carly Simon, Elton John, and many more.
In August 2019, Music Business Worldwide broke the news that Reservoir had acquired the historic catalog of Chrysalis Records, spanning 20,000 recordings.
Reservoir’s roster of active writers and producers includes James Fauntleroy, Ali Tamposi, and Jamie Hartman, plus 2 Chainz, Young Thug, and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie.
It is part of the investment portfolio of Vancouver-based Persis Holdings.Music Business Worldwide