News | Finance

SJ Berwin Acts for Stage Three Music Limited in Term Facility

Friday 27th August 2004

SJ Berwin has acted for Stage Three Music Limited (as the borrower), Apax Partners and Ingenious Ventures in relation to a term facility provided by HSBC Private Bank. The facility, in addition to investor funding, will allow Stage Three Music to spend up to £40 million on music catalogue acquisitions. The funding will also allow the company to develop its existing portfolio by increasing the number of songwriters contracted with the company.

Stage Three Music, whose songs have been recorded by stars such as Janet Jackson, Eric Clapton and BB King, was set up as a music publisher to acquire copyrights from individual songwriters and roll-up independent music publishing catalogues into a single, well-managed cohesive catalogue. The Company's Managing Director, Steve Lewis, is the former CEO of the Music Division of Chrysalis Group Plc and head of Virgin Music (Publishers).

Apax Partners is one of the world's leading private equity investment groups, operating across Europe, Israel and the United States. With over 30 years of direct investing experience, Apax Partners' funds provide long-term equity financing to entrepreneurs to build and strengthen world-class companies.

Ingenious Ventures is a private equity division of Ingenious Media plc, a specialist media and entertainment investment and advisory group based in London. Ingenious Ventures provides expansion capital to fast-growing businesses across the European media sector and their investments in the music sector include 19 Entertainment, the creator of the worldwide television show format, Pop Idol.

The SJ Berwin team was led by banking partner Gillian Smith, assisted by banking assistants Colin Tan and Brendan Davies. Dealing with the Corporate aspects of the deal was partner Rob Day and assistant Adam Teare.

Notes:

• SJ Berwin is a full-service international legal practice with more than 450 lawyers across its offices in London, Brussels, Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Madrid and Paris.
• 
  SJ Berwin was created and thrives as a leading-edge legal services business, focusing on the European and international market place. Our clients are sophisticated buyers of legal services, principally entrepreneurial companies and financial institutions, whom we advise on a comprehensive range of services including Corporate Finance, Commercial, Real Estate, Banking, Reconstruction & Insolvency, Financial Services, Litigation, Employment & Pensions, EU & Competition and Tax.
• 
  Our approach has resulted in the firm winning a number of recent awards including "Real Estate Team of the Year" at The Lawyer Awards 2004, "World's Leading Firm for Private Funds Expertise" in The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers 2003/4", Private Equity Law Firm of the Year: Firm and Fund Work" at the European Venture Capital Journal Awards 2003, "Best Law Firm (fund documentation)" at the PrivateEquityOnline Awards 2003, "Mid-Market Law Firm of the Year" at the Acquisitions Monthly Awards 2003, "Western Europe - Private Equity Law Firm of the Year" by Chambers Global 2003 and Pro Bono Team of the Year at the Young Solicitors' Pro Bono Awards 2003.
• 
  SJ Berwin's Banking Department advises a wide range of banks, other financial institutions, corporates and venture capitalists on all aspects of banking and finance and is on a number of formally constituted bank panels, including Barclays Bank, HBoS, Nomura, Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and Standard Chartered Bank. We are also the external advisers to the Association for Payment Clearing Services and the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company.

 

Back to news