Apparently, the third time really can be the charm, as sources say Influence Media Partners has emerged as the winner in the auction for the music assets of Anthem Entertainment, the Canadian music firm that houses music publishing assets and recorded masters royalties from the likes of Rush and Timbaland.
While two earlier efforts to sell the firm in 2017 and 2022 came up short, sources suggest that in the third go-round, the successful Goldman Sachs-shopped deal saw at least two bids come in above the $600 million mark, even though most other bidders were said to be in the $500 million to $600 million range before dropping out. In all, sources suggested that about a dozen suitors kicked the tires on Anthem.
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While Billboard was unable to determine both of the bidders that came in with bids above $600 million, sources say that Influence Media, backed by BlackRock, bid slightly above $650 million and has signed a deal to buy the company’s music assets, although it has yet to close.
Influence Media, founded in 2019 and initially backed by Warner Music Group before adding BlackRock as its main funding source, has invested in the catalogs of such artists as Blake Shelton, Future, Julia Michaels, Enrique Iglesias and DJ Khaled.
