Ole Lands $500 Million Credit Line To Fund Aquisitions
Independent music publisher Ole has received a $500 million credit line to fuel acquisitions. It part of a trend that has seen everyone from venture capitalists to established publishers vying for song catalogs.
ole, the independent music publishing and rights management company, has secured a $500 million USD credit facility from 12 U.S. and Canadian banks led by Los Angeles-based City National Bank. ole will use the facility to fund future acquisitions.
ole has already completed more than $520 million in acquisitions and controls 50,000 songs and 60,000 hours of TV/Film music across all genres, making it one of the largest independent rights management companies by revenue. Ole owns the Sony Pictures Entertainment catalog, publishing and masters rights to the Rock band Rush and top Pop/Urban Producer/Songwriter, Timbaland.
“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. “We are pleased to have the financial backing, expertise and support from City National Bank and our other financial partners.”
FULL PRESS RELEASE:
TORONTO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–ole (“the Company”), the world’s fastest growing independent music publishing and rights management company, announced today it has secured a $500 million USD credit facility from 12 U.S. and Canadian banks led by Los Angeles-based City National Bank (“CNB”). ole will use the facility to fund future acquisitions.
ole announces half billion dollar credit facility led by City National Bank to fund future acquisitions.
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, making it the largest credit facility in independent music publishing industry in recent years.
“We believe the overwhelming demand for the facility speaks volumes to ole’strack 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. “We are pleased to have the financial backing, expertise and support from City National Bank and our other financial partners.”
Now in its twelfth year, ole has completed more than $520 million in acquisitions and controls over 50,000 songs and 60,000 hours of TV/Film music across all genres, making it one of the largest independent rights management companies by revenue and one of the most profitable. ole has achieved a 3-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 55%. The company is on track to meet a 2016 Net Publisher’s Share target of 60M USD at 65% EBITDA.
ole’s prominent brand and interest in diverse, yet associated assets has enabled the Company to develop a growing deal pipeline across verticals. It is committed to continuing its reputation for safely building scale across business lines. Among its catalog of top-tier assets, ole owns the Sony Pictures Entertainment catalog, publishing and masters rights to the Rock band Rush and top Pop/Urban Producer/Songwriter, Timbaland. ole has ongoing ventures with Timbaland’s Bluestone, among others.
“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.”
About ole
ole is one of the world’s foremost rights management companies with investments of over $520M in music intellectual property (IP). Founded in 2004, with operations in Toronto, Nashville, New York, Los Angeles and London, ole is engaged in IP acquisitions, creative development, and worldwide rights management. The ole catalog includes over 50,000 songs and 60,000 hours of TV and film music across all genres. 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 substantial 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.
ole is committed to the creative development of its 120+ staff songwriters, legacy writers, and composers and adding value to our catalogs and client catalogs. 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 robust 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.
ole Digital is a full YouTube MCN partner for all media with over 5B views across publishing, masters and A/V to date.
For more information, visit www.majorlyindie.com.
Twitter: @olemajorlyindie
Facebook: -ole-About City National
With $42.8 billion in assets, City National Bank provides banking, investment and trust services through 74 offices, including 16 full-service regional centers, in Southern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, Nevada, New York City, Nashville and Atlanta. In addition, the company and its investment affiliates manage or administer $58.3 billion in client investment assets.City National is a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), one of North America’s leading diversified financial services companies. RBC serves more than 16 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the United States and 36 other countries.
For more information about City National, visit the company’s website at cnb.com.
