Apollo backs BMG-Concord tie-up with $1.25bn financing
Apollo Global Management has put $1.25 billion from funds it manages behind the integration of Concord into BMG.
The financing was reported on 17 September, after the acquisition had closed. It covers the costs of bringing the two music companies together. Billboard
BMG completed its acquisition of Concord on 1 September after receiving regulatory approval. The combined company holds more than 4 million works in its catalogue. That total covers songs and recordings that earn money when they are streamed, broadcast, licensed or sold.
Part of Apollo's committed financing will repay some of Concord's outstanding asset-backed securities debt. That is borrowing secured against music rights, where future royalties help pay investors back.
In return, Apollo becomes a minority investor in part of Concord's older catalogue. It will receive equity in a BMG subsidiary that holds the old Concord asset-backed securities and the songs used as collateral for them.
Apollo knows that catalogue well. It handled four Concord asset-backed notes worth more than $4.5 billion combined since 2022. That run included a $1.765 billion issue closed in July 2025, with proceeds used to repay its $1.65 billion 2022-1 note series. Apollo An earlier $850 million issue closed in October 2024. Apollo
As of January 2025, Concord's catalogue was valued at more than $5 billion. Its securitisation that month carried an approximate 52 percent loan-to-value ratio, the share borrowed against the assessed value. Apollo
Bertelsmann, BMG's majority owner, holds a 67% stake in BMG. Affiliates of Great Mountain Partners hold the remaining 33% stake. Bertelsmann said on 1 September it was securing approximately €1.1 billion, about $1.25 billion, in equity capital through an agreement with Apollo. Bertelsmann
Bob Valentine is chief executive of BMG. He was formerly head of Concord. Deutsche Bank acted as Apollo's financial adviser, with Latham & Watkins as legal counsel. Goldman Sachs advised BMG on finance, with DLA Piper and Davis Polk as legal counsel.
What makes this stand out is the plumbing. For listeners, nothing changes in what plays. The songs stay in circulation. The shift sits behind the counter, in how music rights are financed and who administers them.
