Sanctuary in Takeover Talks
In business news, Sanctuary today confirmed they are in talks over a possible takeover.LONDON (Reuters) - Sanctuary Group, the music company which handles artists such as Morrissey and Iron Maiden, said on Friday it had held talks over a possible offer for the firm.
"The company confirms that there have been preliminary talks which may or may not lead to an offer or a further business opportunity", Sanctuary said in a statement.
"(It) notes that during the past 12 months, and indeed on a continuing basis, it has had exploratory discussions with a number of third parties about a wide range of future potential business development and investment opportunities", Sanctuary added.
Sanctuary shares closed at 43-1/2 pence on Thursday, giving the company a stock market value of around 160 million pounds.
A source familiar with the matter said Sanctuary had received several approaches from venture capital companies, including some based in the United States, and added that music industry companies could also be interested in Sanctuary.
Sanctuary's music catalogue has had recent album successes from English singer Morrissey and U.S. rock band The Strokes. Sanctuary also runs an artist management business, where its clients include heavy metal outfits Iron Maiden and Guns N' Roses.
Update (June 6):
LONDON (Reuters) - Sanctuary Group's discussions with potential investors included meetings with larger rivals EMI and Warner Music, a person familiar with the situation said on Sunday.
The talks have been preliminary, no firm offer has been submitted and a deal is not imminent, the source added.
Sanctuary, home to artists including Beyonce, Iron Maiden and Elton John, said on Friday it was in ongoing talks with several third parties that could lead to a partial or outright sale of the company.
In addition to EMI and Warner, several private equity firms also have held talks with the company.
Shares of Sanctuary, the world's biggest independent record label and a major player in artist management, touring and merchandising, are up more than 20 percent since May 31.
Sanctuary, EMI and Warner all declined to comment.
The company's shares closed at 43-1/2 pence on Friday, giving Sanctuary a market capitalization of 161 million pounds ($293 million).
9 Comments
Do you think this could affect Maiden in any major way?
Its unliekly to have any effect on Maiden as everyone knows Maiden are one of the companies hot properties. Its more likely to affect any new signings, the smaller bands chances of promotion etc.
RW is right. What differenciated Sanctuary from other big labels or even independant ones is that they did put their money both in big artists and in little ones, sometimes forgotten (metal bands of the 80s).
They used to let these small bands mature, taking a riskier approach than bigger labels. It also explains why they use their biggest brands, like Maiden, to cash in more often.
If some pension fund or some venture capitalist takes the helm of the company, it is possible that this policy might change in exchange for higher returns in shorter terms.
In the end, it will all depend on the new management.
Cheers
From what I hear Sanctuary has not supported its smaller metal acts for some time with Blaze having problems, Helloween voicing discontent, Metal-Is going the way of the pear and even recently the rumours Bruce was not allowed to do press interviews for his new album. It seems that anything that wouldnt help the major acts wasnt as important.... of course this may just be me reading too much into things
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Blaze has had many problems with himself, not just with Sanctuary.
BTW, Bruce not doing interviews due to Sanctuary is plain bullshit. He prepared a huge press kit to avoid doing loads of interviews, and even after that, he has spoken to selected magazines and radio stations.
This is very true unfortunately.
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Perhaps, I seem to recall a post in our comments a few weeks back as how a website enuired about an interview but was told Bruce wasnt doing any interviews for the new album. Obviously its all hearsay and speculation of course and I wouldnt say that any of what I said was gospel
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Bruce was going to do fewer interviews than for previous solo albums as the press kit for "Tyranny of souls" had comments from the man himself about - apparently - any interesting topic.
The different interviews from France, Australia, etc. seem to prove that he's doing interviews. BTW, there's one in this month's issue of the Spanish magazine This Is Rock (conducted by Doogie White).
Sanctuary bought by EMI. Back to where it started ? 
Cheers
According to Sharecast.com, Sanctuary Group, the music company which handles artists such as GUNS N' ROSES, IRON MAIDEN, SLIPKNOT and SLAYER, has warned that first half underlying earnings are likely to be 40% lower than last year.
Underlying earnings for the full year will also be substantially less than last year's and consequently very substantially lower than market consensus for the full year, it said in a statement.
The company said there there had been a significant slippage of record releases in the records division and lower sales compared with last year.
Simultaneously, the group has incurred the expected additional operational costs in pursuit of its international growth strategy.
It is now undertaking a thorough review of all the operating divisions with a particular emphasis on looking at ways to improve cash generation and profitability and reduce long-term debt levels.
The company announced a bid approach at the start of the month but said there had been no further developments.
According to Bloomberg, Sanctuary makes recordings by artists such as ALISON MOYET and former LED ZEPPELIN vocalist Robert Plant and has expanded its artist management and merchandising activities in recent years. The music industry has sought alternative revenue sources as global sales of recorded music have declined.
Sanctuary will report first-half results on June 28.
Source: Blabbermouth
Cheers