M&A Deal Summary

Bain Capital Private Equity, Providence Equity Partners and Thomas H. Lee Partners Acquire Warner Music Group

On November 1, 2003, private equity firms Bain Capital Private Equity, Providence Equity Partners and Thomas H. Lee Partners acquired media company Warner Music Group from WarnerMedia for 2.6B USD

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Bain Capital Private Equity’s 3rd, Providence Equity Partners’ 7th and Thomas H. Lee Partners’ 3rd transaction in the Media sector.
  • This is Bain Capital Private Equity’s 23rd, Providence Equity Partners’ 8th and Thomas H. Lee Partners’ 12th largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is Bain Capital Private Equity’s 23rd, Providence Equity Partners’ 11th and Thomas H. Lee Partners’ 11th transaction in the United States.
  • This is Bain Capital Private Equity’s 2nd, Providence Equity Partners’ 2nd and Thomas H. Lee Partners’ 2nd transaction in New York.
Investment Fate
  • Warner Music Group was sold to a strategic buyer in 2011 for 3.3B USD.
  • Warner Music Group went public in 2020.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2003-11-01
Target Warner Music Group
Sector Media
Buyer(s) Bain Capital Private Equity
Providence Equity Partners
Thomas H. Lee Partners
Sellers(s) WarnerMedia
Deal Type Divestiture
Deal Value 2.6B USD

Target

Warner Music Group

New York, New York, United States
Warner Music Group is home to a collection of the best-known record labels in the music industry including Asylum, Atlantic, East West, Elektra, Fueled By Ramen, Nonesuch, Reprise, Rhino, Roadrunner, Rykodisc, Sire, Warner Bros., and Word, as well as Warner/Chappell Music. WMG comprises an array of businesses aimed at helping artists achieve long-term creative and financial success while providing consumers with the highest-quality music content available. WMG is engaged in the recorded music business (including artist services) and the music publishing business, and is a leading company in national and international repertoire that operates through numerous international affiliates and licensees in more than 50 countries. Warner Music Group was formed in 1929 and is headquartered in New York City.

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Buyer(S) 3

Buyer

Bain Capital Private Equity

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1984
PE ASSETS 44.2B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Bain Capital Private Equity (BCPE), is the private equity investment arm of alternative asset management firm, Bain Capital. BCPE targets leveraged buyout and growth capital transactions in a wide variety of industries including information technology, communications, media, healthcare, industrial/manufacturing, retail/consumer, and financial services. Bain Capital is based in Boston with additional offices in New York, London, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Munich.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 27 of 236
Sector (Media) 3 of 9
Type (Divestiture) 9 of 37
State (New York) 2 of 5
Country (United States) 23 of 124
Year (2003) 3 of 4
Size (of disclosed) 23 of 72
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2003-10-15 Bocchi Laboratories

Santa Clarita, California, United States

BLI is an outsource manufacturer and packager of personal care products. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in City of Industry, Calif., BLI manufactures and packages personal care products, including lotion, soap, hairspray, shampoo, conditioner and perfume through its two operating subsidiaries, Bocchi Laboratories and Medicia Corporation. The company has experienced strong sales over the past few years, with significant growth over the past year, and has approximately 1,000 employees in five operating facilities located in California and New Jersey. Customers include leading, well recognized personal care companies.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2003-12-01 BRP

Valcourt, Quebec, Canada

BRP is a global designer, developer, manufacturer, distributor and marketer of powersports vehicles. Its portfolio of brands and products includes Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles, Sea-Doo watercraft, Can-Am all-terrain and side-by-side vehicles, Spyder roadsters, Evinrude outboard engines, as well as Rotax propulsion systems. BRP was incorporated in 1937 and is based in Valcourt, Canada.

Buy $879M
Buyer

Providence Equity Partners

Providence, Rhode Island, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1989
PE ASSETS 36.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Providence Equity Partners is a specialist private equity firm that targets investments in media, entertainment, communications, and information companies. Specifically, Providence seeks investments in wireless and wireline telephony, cable television content and distribution, music, film, publishing, radio and television broadcasting, and other media and communications sectors. Providence Equity looks to commit $150 million to $800 million of equity capital in transactions ranging from growth financings and recapitalizations, to buyouts and take-privates. Providence Equity Partners was formed in 1989 and has offices in Providence, Rhode Island; New York, New York; Los Angeles, California; London, United Kingdom; Hong Kong, China; and New Delhi, India.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 20 of 135
Sector (Media) 7 of 29
Type (Divestiture) 4 of 11
State (New York) 2 of 11
Country (United States) 11 of 85
Year (2003) 7 of 7
Size (of disclosed) 8 of 34
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2003-10-14 Freedom Communications

Santa Ana, California, United States

Freedom Communications, Inc. is a diversified media company that primarily publishes community newspapers and metropolitan area newspapers and operates broadcast television stations. Freedom owns 28 daily newspapers and 38 weekly newspapers in 11 states with a combined circulation of 1.2 million and 8 broadcast television stations in 7 states. It is the 13th largest newspaper publisher by circulation and one of the largest independent television broadcasters in the U.S.

Buy $2.1B
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2004-03-22 Recoletos Grupo de Comunicación S.A.

Madrid, Spain

Recoletos is the leading specialized publishing company in Spain. Recoletos’ titles include sports daily Marca, Spain's most read newspaper, and Expansión, Spain's leading business daily.

Buy €900M
Buyer

Thomas H. Lee Partners

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1974
PE ASSETS 35.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Thomas H. Lee Partners (THL) is a private equity firm that seeks buyout, expansion, consolidation, distressed, and recapitalization investments across various industries. Sectors of interest include business and information services, consumer products/retail, financial services, healthcare, industrial, and media/communications. THL looks to invest $100 to $400 million in companies valued up to $2.5 billion. THL was formed in 1974 and is based in Boston, Massachusetts.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 15 of 90
Sector (Media) 3 of 5
Type (Divestiture) 2 of 7
State (New York) 2 of 5
Country (United States) 11 of 77
Year (2003) 4 of 5
Size (of disclosed) 12 of 28
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2003-11-01 Michael Foods

Minnetonka, Minnesota, United States

Michael Foods is a producer of value-added food products and service solutions to customers across the foodservice, retail and food ingredient channels. It holds market positions in attractive categories including value-added egg products, refrigerated potato products and cheese and other dairy case products.

Buy $1.1B
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2003-11-17 Simmons

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Simmons is the second-largest bedding manufacturer in the United States and a world leader in pocketed coil spring technology. Simmons mattresses are distributed under renowned brand names such as Beautyrest and BackCare.

Buy $1.1B

Seller(S) 1

SELLER

WarnerMedia

New York, New York, United States
Category Company
Founded 1985
Sector Media
Employees24,800
Revenue 28.1B USD (2015)
DESCRIPTION

WarnerMedia is a media and entertainment company. WarnerMedia consists of Turner, Home Box Office, and Warner Bros. Turner consists principally of cable networks and digital media properties. Home Box Office consists principally of premium pay television services domestically and premium pay and basic tier television services internationally. Warner Bros. consists principally of feature film, television, home video and videogame production and distribution. WarnerMedia was formerly known as Time Warner was established in 1985. The Company is headquartered in New York City.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 2 of 6
Sector (Media) 1 of 1
Type (Divestiture) 2 of 3
State (New York) 2 of 5
Country (United States) 2 of 5
Year (2003) 1 of 1
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 2
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2002-05-15 Columbia House

New York, New York, United States

Columbia House is a direct marketer of music, videos and DVD home entertainment products. Columbia House was formed in 1955 and is based in New York, New York.

Sell $411M
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2006-04-13 ShowMeWiFi

United States

ShowMeWiFi Corp. provider of online travel and hospitality guides services.

Buy -
Mergr

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