It’s Official: Influence Media to Buy Anthem for Over $600 Million
The deal includes certain rights to songs by Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, and is expected to close by the end of the year.
Lylette Pizarro McLean attends Billboard Women in Music 2022 at YouTube Theater on March 02, 2022 in Inglewood, Calif.
Influence Media Partners, backed by BlackRock, said on Wednesday (July 29) it has signed an agreement to acquire Anthem Entertainment’s portfolio of music publishing and master recording rights and film & TV publishing assets in a deal worth more than $600 million.
The transaction includes Anthem’s stake in more than 24,000 released songs, including Britney Spears‘ “Oops!… I Did It Again,” Justin Timberlake‘s “SexyBack,” Timbaland’s “The Way I Are,” Cody Johnson’s “Til You Can’t,” Rush‘s “Tom Sawyer” and OneRepublic’s “Counting Stars,” according to a press release. It also includes soundtracks from the Spider-Man and Men in Black franchises, and The LEGO Ninjago Movie. Based in Canada, the acquisition of Anthem’s assets is subject to approval from the Canadian Heritage regulator, with Influence saying it is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
“This acquisition marks a major milestone for Influence Media and reflects the momentum we’ve built as a platform,” Lylette Pizarro McLean, Influence Media founder & co-managing partner, said in a statement. “Anthem’s catalog extends far beyond hit songs — it’s music that has become woven into iconic moments, films, and shows that audiences around the world know and love. We’re proud to welcome these works into the Influence portfolio as we continue our next chapter of growth with the support of BlackRock, and look forward to collaborating with our industry-leading partners to create new opportunities and drive exposure for the works and the artists behind them.”
Billboard reported in June that Influence Media partners bid slightly above $650 million to beat around a dozen competing offers for Anthem’s music assets.
Based in New York, Influence Media was founded in 2019 and initially backed by Warner Music Group before funds and accounts managed by affiliates of BlackRock became its primary financing partner. Influence has invested in the catalogs of artists including Blake Shelton, Future, Julia Michaels, Enrique Iglesias and DJ Khaled.
Paul Braude, CIO of direct private opportunities group at BlackRock, described Anthem’s catalog as “the high-quality, scaled intellectual property assets” BlackRock looks for.
“Influence Media has built a differentiated platform with deep industry expertise and strong talent relationships, and we are pleased to broaden our partnership through this transaction,” Braude said in a statement.
Anthem Entertainment CEO Jason Klein, said Anthem built a diverse collection of songs over its two decades.
“As we complete this sale, I am pleased to see our catalog and talented songwriters enter their next era supported by a creator-led independent with the vision and resources to unlock new opportunities and elevate them further,” Klein said.
Truist Bank ran the debt financing raise and served as Influence’s financial advisor. Influence’s legal advisers were Alter, Kendrick & Baron, McDermott Will & Schulte and McCarthy Tétrault. Clifford Chance and Stikeman Elliott advised BlackRock, and Goldman Sachs was Anthem’s exclusive financial advisor to Anthem, with Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt serving as Anthem’s legal counsel.
