Acquisitive song publisher Bug Music Inc. has got the world on a string. The company announced its receipt of a $200 million credit facility from institutions led by the JP Morgan investment banking division of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. [JPM], allowing it to explore continued expansion opportunities.
Although it describes its own merger-and-acquisition strategy as fairly conservative, Bug Music has bought at least 17 companies since 2006. One acquisition, Windswept Music, secured the rights to 150,000 songs, accounting for a large portion of Bug's current 250,000-copyright library. (Among its holdings is "I've Got The World On A String," see?)
Bug is controlled by Crossroads Media, a Los Angeles-based partnership between former Time Warner Inc. [TWX] and Viacom Inc. [VIA] executive Tom McGrath and private equity firm Spectrum Equity Investors. In addition to a variety of standards, Bug publishes songs from the catalogs of Johnny Cash, Pete Townshend, Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Woody Guthrie, Townes Van Zandt and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
My colleague Matt Miller wrote an insightful story about investment in the music publishing industry for this week's issue of The Deal. It can be found here. -- Paul Bonanos
See press release from Bug Music (via BusinessWire)
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