Sony Music is finalising a deal to acquire Blackstone Inc.’s music catalogue, which includes works from artists such as Justin Bieber and Neil Young.
The agreement, considered one of the largest in music history by some sources, involves Recognition Music Group, a company holding or managing rights to over 45,000 tracks.
Sony plans to acquire Recognition through a joint venture with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC. The transaction is estimated to be worth between $3.5 billion and $4 billion, according to anonymous sources close to the negotiations.
Both Sony and Blackstone aim to conclude the deal by next week, with Sony already managing the catalogue.
If completed, this would mark the third multi-billion-dollar music deal in recent months, following the merger of Concord with BMG and the sale of Kobalt to Primary Wave Music.
