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Sony Music takes complete control of The Orchard
By Chris Cooke | Published on Wednesday 18 March 2015
Sony Music has completed its acquisition of The Orchard, according to a filing with the US Securities And Exchange Commission that’s been spotted by Billboard.
Sony Music has been a major shareholder in the distribution business since 2012, when The Orchard merged with its Sony-controlled rival IODA. It was widely assumed that Sony had bought out all of the shares in IODA ahead of that merger, giving it at least 50% of the combined company.
The major has subsequently been viewed as the majority shareholder in the merged entity, though possibly with a 51% stake, the rest of the firm’s shares having been held by Dimensional Associates, which controlled The Orchard at the time of the IODA deal.
But it seems that at the end of last year Sony agreed to buy Dimensional’s stake for about $200 million giving it complete ownership of The Orchard. That deal requires regulatory approval, but is expected to be done by the end of the month.