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The company increased the offering to 77
million class A shares at $25 per share, valuing it at $12.75
billion. It had initially proposed to offer 70 million shares.
The entire offering comprises existing investors selling stock.
Warner Music, home to artists such as Cardi B, Ed Sheeran and
Bruno Mars, had set a target range of $23-$26 per share for the
IPO.
The upsized offering points to improving appetite for new
issues, which came to a halt in March as stocks plunged
following the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Warner Music had planned to price the IPO on Tuesday but
postponed by a day to mark #BlackOutTuesday, a social media
event to show support for racial justice.
The music industry is seen as more resilient to weakness in the
broader economy, though Warner Music has cautioned that the
outbreak has hurt physical revenue streams and delayed the
release of new recordings, movies and television programs.
Warner Music, majority owned by billionaire Len Blavatnik's
Access Industries, posted net loss of $74 million in the second
quarter ended March 31, compared with a profit of $67 million a
year earlier. Its debt totals $2.98 billion.
With companies and investors unable to meet in person due to the
COVID-19 outbreak, Warner Music is the latest firm to complete
its IPO through a virtual roadshow.
Virtual roadshows have meant companies have been able to
complete their IPOs in as little as four days. The shorter
roadshow has served as a hedge against volatile financial
markets.
Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs are among the
underwriters for Warner Music's IPO.
(Reporting by Joshua Franklin in New York and C Nivedita in New
Delhi; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
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