mergers
The merger between entertainment giant Paramount and media company Skydance is set to go ahead after Edgar Bronfman Jr. withdrew a competing offer.
Bronfman, executive chairman of streaming service Fubo, told Paramount’s special committee of directors Monday night that he would not proceed with his bid.
“While there may have been differences, we believe that everyone involved in the sale process is united in the belief that Paramount’s best days are ahead,” he said.
Bronfman, the former chairman and CEO of Warner Music, had intitially offered $4.3 billion for Shari Redstone’s National Amusements, the controlling shareholder of Paramount, according to multiple media reports. He then upped that bid to $6 billion.
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Paramount agreed last month to a merger deal with Skydance that will inject desperately needed cash into a legacy studio that has struggled to adapt to a shifting entertainment landscape.
Since then, during what’s known as a “go shop” period, a special committee of Paramount’s board had reached out to more than 50 third parties to determine whether they were interested in making offers. The go shop period was extended for Bronfman, but has now closed.
Shari Redstone’s National Amusements has owned more than three-quarters of Paramount’s Class A voting shares through the estate of her late father, Sumner Redstone. She had battled to maintain control of the company that owns CBS, which is behind blockbuster films such as “Top Gun” and “The Godfather.”
The deal signals the rise of a new power player, Skydance founder David Ellison, the son of billionaire Larry Ellison, who founded the software company Oracle.
Skydance, based in Santa Monica, California, has helped produce some major Paramount hits in recent years, including Tom Cruise films like “Top Gun: Maverick” and installments of the “Mission Impossible” series.
The proposed combined company of Paramount and Skydance is valued at around $28 billion. The deal is expected to close in September 2025, pending regulatory approval.
Paramount, founded in 1914 as a distributor, is one of Hollywood’s oldest studios and has had a hand in releasing numerous films — from “Sunset Boulevard” and “The Godfather,” to “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Titanic.”
Roc Nation and its music distribution wing, Equity Distribution, have merged to form Roc Nation Distribution, sources tell Billboard. As part of this new formation, all artists currently signed to Roc Nation the label will be under ROC Nation Distribution.
Sources add that ROC Nation Distribution will continue to sign artists and offer myriad services similar to those provided by Equity Distribution. Established in 2019, Equity Distribution works with independent artists who wish to retain ownership of their masters. Under the leadership of president Krystian Santini, Equity offers a range of services including in-house marketing and publishing administration. Notably, they have worked with independent artists like Mach-Hommy and Tinashe and brought Jay-Z‘s 1996 debut album, Reasonable Doubt, to streaming services in 2019.
As part of the move, Shari Bryant, co-president of Roc Nation’s record label, has stepped down from her post. Bryant became co-president alongside Omar Grant in 2019 after former label president Benny Pough departed. Bryant and Grant signed new acts to the label during their tenure, including Maeta, Ambre, Reuben Vincent and Kalan FrFr.
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Roc Nation was originally founded in 2008 as a joint venture with Live Nation to cover Jay-Z’s touring and future recordings; the company signed its first artist, J. Cole, the following year. Since then, Roc has expanded into a full-service entertainment company, with management, sports, publishing and distribution divisions, as well as a long-running festival, Made In America; the company also has a deal with the NFL to oversee the programming for its Super Bowl Halftime Show and its social justice initiatives. Over the years, the label released several chart-topping albums from Jay-Z, J. Cole, Rihanna and a slew of others; the roster had more recently included artists such as Rapsody, Vic Mensa, Belly, Snoh Aalegra, and Jaden and Willow Smith.
In March, Maeta landed her first No. 1 on Billboard‘s Adult R&B Airplay chart with the success of “Through the Night” featuring Free Nationals. Grammy-nominated MC Rapsody released her new album, Please Don’t Cry, through Roc Nation and Jamla Records in May with features from Erykah Badu and Lil Wayne.
Roc Nation Management remains formidable, boasting names such as Megan Thee Stallion and Lil Uzi Vert. In June, Megan released her eponymous album, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200; it featured her Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper, “Hiss.” Tinashe, also managed by Roc, regained momentum this year when she notched a hit with “Nasty,” her first Hot 100 entry as a lead artist since 2014’s “2 On.” The management division also reps DJ Khaled, J Balvin, Yo Gotti, Robin Thicke, Mustard, Christina Aguilera and more, according to its website.
Korn guitarist Brian “Head” Welch has invested in Atlantic Behavioral Health, a new mental health treatment center serving Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The center focuses on anxiety, depression and other mental health disorders, combining individual therapy, group therapy and medication management. “Partnering with Atlantic is so personal to me and not just another business to invest in,” said Welch in a statement. “I know what it feels like to live at the bottom of a dark pit, but I also know if you put in the work, the light will come back on, and Atlantic is going to help so many people find that light switch.”
Tune.FM, a Web3 decentralized music streaming platform with an integrated music NFT marketplace, received $20 million in funding from investment group LDA Capital. Tune.FM allows artists to monetize their fanbases through streaming royalty micropayments and digital music collectibles with exclusive unlockable experiences powered by the JAM token ($JAM) using Hedera Hashgraph distributed ledger technology. Tune.FM will use the funds to grow its user base, expand its development team, launch new products and increase liquidity for the JAM token internationally.
iHeartMedia has formed a strategic collaboration with Zigazoo Kids, which encompasses social networks Zigazoo (for children 13 and up) and Zigazoo Kids (for children under 13). Under the deal, the companies will explore opportunities between iHeartMedia’s portfolio of music and podcasts and Zigazoo’s content. iHeartMedia will additionally launch a national, multi-million-dollar campaign across its multiplatform audio network to stoke further awareness of Zigazoo’s social networks.
Independent radio promotions firms Your Army and Strange Loop Promo have merged. Under the deal, both companies will now operate under the Your Army banner out of offices in L.A., New York and Vancouver, Canada.
The U.K. office of Believe has signed a long-term label solutions partnership with Mahogany, the global multi-platform music brand behind the Mahogany Sessions YouTube channel. Under the agreement, Mahogany will handle global distribution for Mahogany’s label, Mahogany Records, along with its video platforms Mahogany Sessions, COVERS and Lagoon. Mahogany will additionally work with Believe’s audience development team to develop the global reach of its imprints across established and developing markets and expand their content into new territories, genres and audio-visual formats. Forthcoming plans include the public launch of Mahogany’s bespoke digital distribution service, Mahogany Songs.
Sony Music Masterworks has formed a strategic venture with London-based live entertainment company Roast Productions. Operating internationally, Roast Productions produces theater, concerts and family entertainment events. Founders Bonnie Royal and Michael Stevens will continue leading Roast’s day-to-day operations while partnering with Masterworks on developing a range of new productions. They will work closely with Masterworks president Mark Cavell and Ollie Rosenblatt, founder/CEO of U.K.-based producer/promoter Senbla.
Comedy festival SF Sketchfest has partnered with livestreaming platform Veeps to stream five of its featured shows exclusively on the platform between Jan. 21 and Feb. 4. The shows to be livestreamed are: Triumph the Insult Comic Dog’s Let’s Make A Poop!, Kids in the Hall: Scenes They Wouldn’t Let Us Do, Varietopia with Paul F. Tompkins, Hello From Magic Tavern and The Trav-enture Zone: A Night of Dungeons & Dragons & Also Comedians. The Kids in the Hall and Tompkins shows will only stream live; the others will be available to replay for 48 hours.
ASM Global has announced a new naming rights partnership with Strawberry Hotel Group that begins in July. Under the deal, ASM will rename the former Friends Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, to Strawberry Arena.
Artelize — a platform that uses artificial intelligence to collect information about concerts and events in opera, classical music, ballet and dance, musicals, spoken theater and jazz, allowing artists and producers to quickly create posts that promote their upcoming events — has closed a pre-seed funding round of €1 million ($1.09 million) led by Bjørn Bruun, founder of Danish fashion brand Bruuns Bazaar, along with other angel investors. Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, Artelize also received a government grant from the Danish Innobooster Programme and a loan facility from the Danish Export and Investment fund as part of the round. The funding will allow Artelize, which is mainly focused on the U.S. market, to expand into the United Kingdom and Europe.
ADA Italy has signed a distribution deal with LaTarma Records. Founded by Marta Donà, LaTarma’s roster includes Ale, Giovanni Toscano, Dolcedormire, Matteo Crea and Angelina Mango.
Production music company ALIBI Music has signed Cadence Music Group as its new synch agent for Canada.
Two major forces in talent representation are coming together via the merger of Agency For the Performing Arts (APA) and Artist Group International (AGI).
Announced today (June 21), this partnership launches the newly formed Independent Artist Group (IAG). The company will have offices in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville and Atlanta.
Current APA president Jim Osborne will lead IAG as CEO. Dennis Arfa, founder and CEO of AGI, will serve as chairman of IAG’s music division. AGI president Marsh Vlasic will serve as vice-chair of this music division, with Vlasic, Arfa, AGI COO Jarred Arfa, AGI president of touring Adam Kornfeld and the rest of the company’s senior agents and staff all joining IAG. As reported by Digital Music News, APA recently let go of several of its music agents.
The creation of IAG follows an agreement between APA and Yucaipa Entertainment LLC, a private investment firm owned by Ron Burkle that, as DMN reports, acquired AGI in January 2012 and made a major non-equity investment into APA in September 2012.
Arfa founded touring agency AGI 35 years ago. The company delivers IAG a client roster that includes Billy Joel, Metallica, Def Leppard, Rod Stewart, Motley Crue, Linkin Park, Jane’s Addiction, Darryl Hall & John Oates, Norah Jones, Neil Young, The Strokes, Smashing Pumpkins, Ghost, Elvis Costello, Cage The Elephant and Five Finger Death Punch.
APA touring music clients coming to IAG include 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige, Ms. Lauryn Hill, 2 Chainz, NE-YO, Key Glock, $not, Kamasi Washington, D’Angelo, blackbear, JAX, Cypress Hill, Bryce Vine, Jon Bellion and Robert Glasper.
The merger follows recent AGI and APA collaborations involving AGI clients Billy Joel, Daryl Hall, Perry Farrell, GHOST and Billy Corgan.
“Dennis Arfa and his exceptional colleagues at AGI are revered in the industry, having built a spectacular artist roster and a sterling reputation,” Osborne says in a statement. “The great news is we have already established a tremendous working relationship with them through shared representation on some of their most valued artists. This new partnership with AGI and our rebrand to Independent Artist Group (IAG)is another major step that elevates us within the agency landscape…and we are not done yet!”
“This was the natural next step in our evolution and made in the best interests of our valued artists,” adds Arfa. “We have admired how Jim Osborne and their colleagues have been market leaders in creating brand expanding, non-touring revenue opportunities for their clients and we are excited to build on that success with them and look forward to integrating under the Independent Artist Group (IAG) banner.”
WWE and the company that runs Ultimate Fighting Championship will combine to create a $21.4 billion sports entertainment company.
A new publicly traded company will house the UFC and World Wrestling Entertainment brands, with Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. taking a 51% controlling interest in the new company. Existing WWE shareholders will hold a 49% stake.
The companies put the enterprise value of UFC at $12.1 billion and WWE’s value at $9.3 billion.
The new business, which does not yet have a name, will be lead by Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel. Vince McMahon, executive chairman at WWE, will serve in the same role at the new company. Dana White will continue as president of UFC and Nick Khan will be president at WWE.
“Together, we will be a $21+ billion live sports and entertainment powerhouse with a collective fanbase of more than a billion people and an exciting growth opportunity,” McMahon said in a prepared statement Monday.
He also provided some idea of where the focus of the new company will be, saying that it will look to maximize the value of combined media rights, enhance sponsorship monetization, develop new forms of content and pursue other strategic mergers and acquisitions to further bolster their brands.
Ties already exists talent wise between WWE and UFC, with stars such as Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey crossing over between the two businesses.
The deal between Endeavor and WWE catapults WWE into a new era, after functioning as a family-run business for decades. McMahon purchased Capitol Wrestling from his father in 1982, and took the regional wrestling business to a national audience with the likes of wrestling stars such as Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The company, which changed its name to World Wrestling Federation and later World Wrestling Entertainment, hosted its first WrestleMania in 1985.
McMahon, in an interview with CNBC, addressed the notion that there was doubt among some WWE fans and industry experts that he would ever make a deal for the business. “It’s the right time to do the right thing. And it’s the next evolution of WWE,” he said.
The announcement of the WWE sale arrives after McMahon, the founder and majority shareholder of WWE, returned to the company in January and said that it could be up for sale.
Rumors swirled about who would possibly be interested in buying WWE, with Endeavor, Disney, Fox, Comcast, Amazon and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund all in the mix.
McMahon acknowledged to CNBC that there were several suitors for WWE, but that combining with Endeavor is the right move.
“It makes all the sense in the world for all these synergies that we have to extract all of the value that we can out of the marketplace,” he explained.
Media industry analysts viewed WWE as an attractive target given its global reach and loyal fanbase, which includes everyone from minors to seniors and a wide range of incomes.
The company held its marquee event, WrestleMania, over the weekend. Last year, WWE booked revenue of $1.3 billion.
The company is also a social media powerhouse. It surpassed 16 billion social video views in the final quarter of last year. It has nearly 94 million YouTube subscribers and has more than 20 million followers on TikTok. Its female wrestlers comprise five out of the top 15 most followed female athletes in the world, across Facebook, Twitter & Instagram, led by Ronda Rousey with 36.1 million followers.
WWE had more than 7.5 billion digital and social media views in January and February of this year, up 15% from the same time frame a year ago.
The new company plans to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the “TKO” ticker symbol. Its board will have 11 members, with six being appointed by Endeavor and five being appointed by WWE.
“We like the assets of UFC and also WWE in a world where linear TV is losing market share to streaming, thus live sport content is in high demand,” wrote Jeffries analyst Randal Konik said in a note to clients.
The transaction, which was approved by the boards of Endeavor and WWE, is targeted to close in the second half of the year. It still needs regulatory approval.
Shares of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., based in Stamford, Connecticut, are up 33% this year, but fell 5% at the opening bell Monday. Shares of Endeavor, based in Beverly Hills, California, slipped less than 1%.
Esteemed law firms Mark Music & Media Law and Roberts & Hafitz have merged to create one bicoastal entity under the name Mark Music & Media Law, P.C. The combined firm will host 15 lawyers, based out of offices in Los Angeles, New York, and Nashville.
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Over the years, attorneys under the newly merged MMML have represented clients like Billie Eilish, Guns N’ Roses, The Chainsmokers, Tool, Smokey Robinson, Benny Blanco, Amy Allen, Andrew Watt, New Kids on the Block, Pink Sweat$, Ice Spice, Danny Elfman, Atticus Ross, Lauren Spencer-Smith, Finneas, among many others. They have acted as advisors for film companies’ in-house music divisions, including Warner Bros. for its A Star is Born, Elvis, Space Jam: A New Legacy, and Suicide Squad and MGM for No Time to Die, Respect. Members of the team have also worked with Arthouse Entertainment, Loma Vista, and Epitaph Records.
The New York-based Roberts & Hafitz is helmed by father-son duo Jaimie Roberts and Harry Roberts as well as Michael Hafitz. Now the two films have merged, the MMML New York bureau will comprise of the three leaders as well as Katelyn Wicks, Marisa Masters, Stephen Goldstein, and Leon Morabia.
The Los Angeles hub will host longtime Angelenos Doug Mark and David Ferreria — both partners at MMML — as well as Jared Tankel, Marisa Novak, Eric Morris, Todd Thorson, and Blake Leeper. Elizabeth Gregory will be Of Counsel out of Nashville.
Mark, MMML Founding Partner says of the merger, “we wanted to further build an exciting presence in New York to complement our West Coast group, and now with Harry and his team together with Leon, our firm further establishes itself as the “go-to” for the next generation of superstar talent and entrepreneurs looking for counsel in this ever-changing industry.”
Roberts, MMML Partner adds, “having gotten to know Doug, David, and the MMML team in both a personal and professional capacity, it was clear that they shared the same values and vision as we do. The synergy that the joining of our two practices creates, particularly in terms of resources and firepower, will instantly benefit our clients and colleagues as we continue to build a progressive and modern entertainment legal practice.”
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