New York City-based music publisher Reservoir Media is reportedly preparing to go public by merging with Roth CH Acquisition II (ROCC on NASDAQ), a blank-check acquisition company that’s operated by Roth Capital and Minneapolis-based Craig-Hallum Capital Group.
Bloomberg recently reported on the potential merger of Reservoir Media and Roth CH Acquisition II, but at the time of this piece’s writing, neither company had commented publicly on the possibility. The post-merger entity would be valued at $700 million, according to the same source, but discussions between Reservoir and Roth higher-ups are reportedly ongoing.
Founded in 2007, Reservoir Media states that its catalog encompasses north of 26,000 masters and 130,000 copyrights, including works from artists such as 2 Chainz, John Denver, Ja Rule, and Sheryl Crow, to name some. Additionally, the 14-year-old indie publisher, which has offices in Los Angeles, Nashville, Toronto, London, and Abu Dhabi, also notes that it possesses the rights to scores from some 150 movies, including The Lion King, the five-film Pirates of the Caribbean series, and The Dark Knight trilogy.
Earlier this month, Anghami, the most popular music streaming service in North Africa and the Middle East, unveiled plans to debut on the stock market after merging with the Vistas Media Acquisition Company (traded as VMAC), which itself began trading in 2020. The regional streaming player will maintain its name post-merger, and Vistas’ stock symbol will become “ANGH.”
Other music-focused “special purpose acquisition companies” have arrived on the scene in 2021, beginning with the late-January rollout of the Liberty Media Acquisition Corporation and its $500 million IPO.
Liberty Media – which owns about one-third of Live Nation and approximately 70 percent of SiriusXM – hasn’t yet unveiled its precise investment plans for the half-billion-dollar company. But the entity will pursue plays “in the media, digital media, music, entertainment, communications, telecommunications and technology industries.”
And to kick off February, The Music Acquisition Corporation (MAC), a music-focused blank-check company founded by former Geffen Records president and Hallwood Media founder Neil Jacobson, officially debuted on the stock market. Having offered 20 million shares at $10 apiece (the same per-share price as LMAC), the MAC “intends to focus its search for an initial business combination on businesses that are either directly or indirectly connected with the music sector.”
Most recently, about one month after Richard Branson gave his blessing to Universal Music’s revamped “Virgin Music Label & Artist Services,” the Virgin Group Acquisition Corporation II announced its own $350 million IPO.
Branson will be part of the company’s management team, and the entity (which also priced its shares at $10 apiece) will look to purchase a business “in one of the Virgin Group’s core sectors: travel & leisure, financial services, health & wellness, technology & internet-enabled, music & entertainment, media & mobile and renewable energy/resource efficiency.”