Wesbild and Richmond Hill bid $10.50 per share for Reservoir

A competing takeover bid just landed at Reservoir Media barely 24 hours after the first one, turning the indie music company into the prize of a full-blown bidding war.

Wesbild and Richmond Hill jump into the fight

• Wesbild Inc. and Richmond Hill Investments proposed $10.50 per share.
• That counter-bid arrived just one day after Irenic's offer surfaced.
• Wesbild and Richmond Hill already control a combined 65% stake.
• Reservoir's stock jumped over 8% on the Nasdaq after the news.

The board sets up a special committee to evaluate

• Independent directors now handle the review of both proposals.
• Reservoir explicitly offered no assurances about any deal closing.
• Irenic's earlier bid ranged between $10.00 and $11.00 per share.
• The company plans to stay quiet unless forced to disclose more.

Family and institutional control complicates everything

• Wesbild holds 44% and is run by the CEO's father.
• Richmond Hill's private-equity stake sits at roughly 21%.
• Their combined voting power essentially dictates shareholder approval.
• Irenic's 9.2% stake carries far less structural leverage here.

Reservoir's catalog makes it an attractive target

• Over 150,000 copyrights and 36,000 masters fill the portfolio.
• Joni Mitchell, Miles Davis, and Sheryl Crow anchor that collection.
• Last quarter pulled $45.6 million in revenue, up 8% annually.
• Bertie Higgins' catalog was another recent acquisition for Reservoir.