Sony will be the 100% owner of music distribution company The Orchard after the end of this month.
According to an SEC filing, Sony has entered into an agreement to acquire all the remaining shares in the business in a $200m (€136m) deal with current stakeholder Orchard Asset Holdings, LLC.
Sony said it expects the acquisition to close after March 31 subject to regulatory approvals.
The major merged The Orchard with IODA back in May 2012 when both were purely digital aggregators.
Sony is believed to have owned more than 50% of the merged company, whose annual turnover is comfortably in excess of $100m.
The Orchard, which was founded 18 years ago, has brought a number of independent labels in-house during its history.
These include TVT Records, Frenchkiss Records, Discos Joey, JDub and Xanadu.
This year, the company has acquired Blind Pig Records and signed a strategic partnership with German services company Membram.
It will be fully-owned by Sony Music Entertainment – the parent company of its Japan and US-based companies covering Recorded Music, Music Publishing (its 50% stake in Sony/ATV) and ‘Visual Media and Platform’ divisions.Music Business Worldwide
