Toronto-based music rights company ole has already spent US $520m on acquisitions, it announced today – and it’s ready to do the same all over again.
The business has secured a new $500m USD credit facility from 12 U.S. and Canadian banks led by Los Angeles-based City National Bank (“CNB”).
Ole said it will use the new facility to fund future acquisitions, potentially taking its total buyout tally since launch to over a billion dollars.
“We believe the overwhelming demand for the facility speaks volumes to ole’s track record of execution and success, and we look forward to finding new opportunities to continue to scale in existing and complementary verticals as well as to further enhance our technology and data management assets,” said ole Chairman and CEO Robert Ott (pictured).
“We are pleased to have the financial backing, expertise and support from City National Bank and our other financial partners.”
The transaction, originally launched as a $400 million facility, generated strong demand from both new and existing lenders, and as a result was increased to $500 million.
Ole called it “the largest credit facility in independent music publishing industry in recent years”.
Now in its 12th year, ole controls over 50,000 songs and 60,000 hours of TV/Film music across all genres. It calls itself “one of the largest independent rights management companies by revenue and one of the most profitable”, with a 3-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 55%.
The company said it was on track to meet a 2016 Net Publisher’s Share target of 60M USD at 65% EBITDA.
Among its catalogue of acquired assets, ole owns the Sony Pictures Entertainment catalog, in addition to both publishing and masters rights to the Rock band Rush and Pop/Urban Producer/Songwriter, Timbaland.
“We’ve been supporting the entertainment industry for over 60 years and we see great potential in ole, which has earned a premier reputation not only in the music industry, but in film and television as well,” said City National Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Russell Goldsmith.
“City National’s lead role in this significant credit facility is possible in part because we are now an RBC company and it highlights our ever-growing commitment to serving the broad financial needs of the music industry.”
Founded in 2004, with operations in Toronto, Nashville, New York, Los Angeles and London, copyrights under ole’s control include songs recorded by artists such as the Backstreet Boys, Beyoncé, Blake Shelton, Britney Spears, Carrie Underwood, Eric Church, Jay Z, Justin Timberlake, Kelly Clarkson, Madonna, Michael Jackson, One Direction, Rihanna, Rush, Taylor Swift, and Timbaland.
ole controls A/V music and secondary rights including catalogs from Sony Pictures Entertainment, Entertainment One, MGM, Miramax, Nelvana, and Nu Image/Millennium, as well as an extensive production music library of over 750,000 tracks including Jingle Punks, Cavendish Music, 5 Alarm Music, MusicBox, Nelvana Production Music, Auracle, and Cue.
In February, it acquired Imagem Production Music for an undisclosed fee.
Current ole writers include Timbaland, Tyler Farr, Josh Dorr, Gord Bamford, Brett Jones, Jeremy Stover, Phil O’Donnell, Jordan Davis, and Ian Thornley. ole has ongoing ventures with Last Gang Publishing, Roots Three Music, Jackoby Publishing, and most recently, ole-Bluestone Publishing, ole’s venture with global hitmaker Timbaland.
ole’s legacy catalogs and writers include Rush, Max Webster, Coney Hatch, and Ian Thomas.
ole also operates a label services arm under the umbrella of ole label services.
The division includes Anthem Entertainment Group, the label home of Rush, Big Wreck, Ian Thornley, Steven Page, The Tea Party. Anthem Legacy includes; Max Webster, Ian Thomas, and artist development label red dot, which has developed and up-streamed artists including Charlie Worsham, Haley Reinhart, Josh Dorr, Sam Grow, and Jordan Davis.Music Business Worldwide
