Overview

• The $400 million strategic injection is earmarked to fund acquisitions and active management of both recorded-music and publishing catalogs.
• Founded in 2021 by Dundee Partners with KKR as an early backer, Chord operates in collaboration with Universal Music Group to combine institutional capital with UMG’s global distribution networks.
• Chord’s portfolio spans rights to works by artists such as The Weeknd, Morgan Wallen, Lorde, John Legend, Ellie Goulding and ZZ Top.
• Lazard and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP advised Searchlight on the transaction, reflecting standard support for large-scale intellectual property investments.
• The investment positions Chord and its partners to pursue additional catalog purchases in a market marked by rising valuations and consolidation of music-rights assets.