Benzinga | Nov 17, 2021 11:44AM EST

Warner Music Raises $535M Debt To Fund Potential Acquisition Of David Bowie's Songwriting Catalog

* Warner Music Group Corp (NASDAQ:WMG) is in advanced talks to acquire David Bowie's songwriting catalog and is raising $535 million in debt to support the potential acquisition, Financial Times reports.

* The record label behind singers Lizzo and Dua Lipa said it offered $535 million in debt for "potential acquisitions of certain music and music-related assets." The Bowie catalog is one of these acquisitions.

* Bowie's estate was looking to sell his catalog and has attracted bids of about $200 million.

* Music copyrights have soared in value as streaming on services such as Spotify Technology SA (NYSE:SPOT) has revived the industry, drawing the attention of private equity groups and specialist investment funds.

* The major music labels, Warner Music, Universal Music Group NV (OTC:UMGNF) (OTC:UNVGY), and Sony Group Corp (NYSE:SONY) Sony Music, compete with these investors to buy catalogs.

* Related Content: David Bowie Estate Signs Catalogue Deal With Warner Music: Here Are The Starman's Best-Selling Albums

* Price Action: WMG shares traded higher by 1.26% at $44.19 on the last check Wednesday.