Warner Music Files IPO
A yearlong turnaround is set for monetization after
Warner Music
filed a $750 million initial public offering Friday with the
Securities and Exchange Commission
.
The company, which was purchased last year from
Time Warner
(TWX)
by a group led by Seagram heir Edgar Bronfman, didn't list a price range or share count in the S1 filed Friday morning.
Warner will used the proceeds for debt redemption and general purposes. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were listed as the lead underwriters.
Warner sells music through labels including Warner Brothers and Atlantic Records and also makes money from a publishing division that owns more than 1 million copyrights. For the three months ended Dec. 31, 2004, the company earned $36 million on sales of more than $1 billion.
The company's current owners, which include private equity heavyweights Bain and Thomas H. Lee, paid close to $2.6 billion in cash and other consideration for the former Time Warner unit. The deal closed March 1, 2004.