Investment giant Apollo Global Management is backing Sony Music Group to the tune of $700 million to help the company fund music acquisitions, it was announced Friday (July 26).
The deal could provide the financial assistance needed for Sony’s planned acquisition of Queen‘s recording and music publishing catalogs. Sources have told Billboard the band is seeking $1.2 billion for its catalogs and ancillary income streams, and Bloomberg reported in May that Sony Music was working with another investor on the deal.
“We are pleased to provide a bespoke capital solution to an affiliate of one of the world’s leading companies,” said Apollo partner Jamshid Ehsani in a statement. “This investment allows our clients to invest in high grade securities while helping Sony to execute its business plans.”
Apollo, which has $671 billion of assets under management, isn’t a newcomer to music intellectual property. The firm is the financial backer of HarborView Equity Partners, an investment firm launched in 2021 by Sherrese Clarke Soares, co-founder and former CEO of Tempo Music. In 2011, Apollo acquired CKx, Inc., the owner of American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance producer 19 Entertainment.
Music companies occasionally partner with financial companies to acquire catalogs. In fact, Sony has taken this route before: In 2021, the company joined with Eldridge to pay $500 million for Bruce Springsteen‘s recorded music and publishing catalogs. (Eldridge is an investor in Billboard‘s owner, Penske Media Corporation.) In 2023, Shamrock Holdings joined Universal Music Group’s $200 million acquisition of some income streams and music assets of hip-hop producer and artist Dr. Dre.