Warner Music Group has launched its initial public offering (IPO) of 70 million shares of its Class A common stock. The group expects to sell each share for around USD$23-26 (A$35-39), which would result in the IPO raising between USD$1.61 billion (A$2.42 billion) and USD$1.82 billion (A$2.74 billion).
The offering consists of secondary shares to be sold by Access Industries, LLC and certain related selling stockholders. Warner Music Group has stated that the company will not receive any proceeds of the offering.
Warner Music Group’s collection of record labels includes, Asylum, Atlantic, Big Beat, East West and Reprise Records, representing artists such as Ed Sheeran, Cardi B, Camila Cabello, Madonna, Tones and I, Charli XCX, David Guetta, Sia, Wiz Khalifa, Jason Derulo.
Warner Chappell Music, meanwhile, is the global music publishing company of Warner Music Group, representing the works of over 65,000 songwriters and composers, with more than 1 million copyrights. Last week Warner Chappell Music entered into a global publishing agreement with British music icons Duran Duran.
In Q1 2020 the group recorded an 11% increase in Recorded Music streaming revenue and a 17% rise in Music Publishing digital revenue. Other major music streaming services, such as Spotify, have also witnessed surging usage since the COVID-19 lockdowns.
