Blackstone and others have taken a majority stake in Citrin Cooperman. Photo Credit: Sarah Elizabeth
Blackstone and others have dropped a reported $2 billion on a majority stake in Citrin Cooperman, a prominent player in music IP valuations.
That multibillion-dollar buyout just recently entered the media spotlight, against the backdrop of continued investment-firm interest in music assets. For New Mountain Capital, said interest fueled the purchase of performance rights organization BMI last year.
Evidently, though, Citrin Cooperman isn’t part of the long-term plan for New Mountain, which also possesses the majority of Grant Thornton. According to the newly unveiled deal’s formal announcement, Blackstone specifically made a “significant investment” in Citrin.
But the Financial Times attached the initially mentioned $2 billion price tag – and majority-ownership details – to the transaction. All told, the Blackstone-led investment group will reportedly obtain over two-thirds of Citrin, with Blackstone’s own interest remaining beneath 50%.
The latter move reportedly aims to ensure regulatory approval and avoid independence-related scrutiny on the audit side. Overall, 46-year-old Citrin Cooperman is said to have north of 15,000 global clients across its tax, advisory, and accounting services.
In the music space, however, the accounting firm is best known for its role in assigning valuations to song rights.
That entry into the lucrative sub-sector – which is delivering fresh deals despite the billions already dropped on music IP – took definitive shape with Citrin’s January 2022 acquisition of Massarsky Consulting.
At that point, Massarsky itself was already appraising hundreds of catalogs per year; the post-purchase Citrin Cooperman valued all manner of works for Hipgnosis Songs Fund as well.
Without diving too far into the involved subject, a great deal of controversy accompanied Massarsky/Citrin’s valuation methodology at HSF over the years. Like so many components of the ultra-quick-moving industry, this controversy, having resurfaced amid a takeover battle last year, is a distant memory today.
Nevertheless, the Citrin buyout is something of a full-circle moment for Blackstone, which only closed its $1.6 billion acquisition of HSF (following several twists and turns) in late July 2024.
Hipgnosis then rolled out a nearly $1.5 billion ABS in November 2024, indicating as well that a portion of the capital would bankroll additional song-rights deals yet.
Bearing the point in mind, Citrin CEO Alan Badey in a statement described Blackstone’s investment as one component of his company’s “next chapter of growth.”
“Blackstone will help us make additional investments in expanded service offerings and technology as we deliver on our continued commitment to best-in-class firm culture and providing an exceptional client experience,” proceeded the more than two-decade Citrin exec Badey.
In the bigger picture, private equities aren’t just zeroing in on song rights in the multifaceted music sector. Vivid Seats reportedly has prospective purchasers, for instance, and Blackstone is reportedly fielding offers for SESAC to boot.