Chord Music Partners Prices $500 Million ABS Backed by Diversified Music Catalog

Notes Backed by Diversified Music Catalog; Transaction Receives A Ratings from KBRA and S&P Global Ratings

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Chord Music Partners, a leading global music investment platform managed by Dundee Partners in partnership with Universal Music Group (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment, today announced the pricing of $500 million of Series 2026-1 senior notes (the “Notes”), secured by a diversified portfolio of music publishing and recorded music assets. The Notes are expected to be issued by Canon Music Issuer Trust, which is intended to serve as Chord’s long-term financing vehicle, and priced at a yield of 5.560% and a spread of 160 basis points, marking the tightest-ever pricing for a music royalty ABS to date.

The Notes are backed by royalties from a catalog of more than 3,750 musical compositions and master recordings spanning a wide range of genres and vintages, with works from globally recognized artists and songwriters.

The Notes have received A ratings from Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) and S&P Global Ratings. The catalog supporting the transaction has been valued at approximately $830 million by an independent third-party valuation agent, reflecting the scale, diversification, and long-term cash flow profile of the underlying assets.

The offering is collateralized by a mix of publishing and recorded music rights, with approximately 34% of recent cash flows derived from publishing royalties and 66% from sound recordings. The catalog is diversified across artists, genres, and release periods, with a weighted average age of approximately 10 years.

Sam Hendel, Co-Founder of Chord Music Partners and Dundee Partners Managing Principal, said: “This transaction reflects the strength of Chord’s high-quality music investment platform and the continued demand for music rights as long-term assets with differentiated and largely uncorrelated cash flow characteristics. We are proud to manage a diversified portfolio of music assets supported by iconic artists, songwriters and recordings, and we remain focused on building lasting value across the Chord platform.”

Apollo Managing Director Paul Sipio said, “Universal Music Group and Dundee Partners have built Chord with a differentiated portfolio that combines the scale and stability of the world's largest music company with a contemporary artist roster generating durable, growing royalty streams. Pricing at the tightest spread ever achieved for a music royalty ABS speaks to the quality of those assets, and we are committed to serving as a long-term, flexible capital partner as this program continues to grow alongside Chord’s business."

Universal Music Investments, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Universal Music Group, serves as manager of the transaction, with UMG providing related administration, distribution and operational support for the underlying music assets.

Apollo Global Securities, LLC and ATLAS SP Securities acted as joint bookrunners for the transaction, and Redding Ridge Asset Management, an Apollo affiliate, served as structuring agent. Fifth Third Securities and MUFG Securities served as joint bookrunners. The Bank of New York Mellon serves as trustee and calculation agent.

About Chord Music Partners

Chord Music Partners is a leading independent global music rights platform, formed through a strategic partnership between Dundee Partners and Universal Music Group (UMG), the world-leader in music-based entertainment. Chord combines long-term institutional capital with global operational scale, creative partnership and active rights management to build and manage a growing portfolio of high-quality music intellectual property. The platform includes works by some of the most influential artists and songwriters in music, with a focus on culturally relevant, high-performing rights across genres, eras and geographies. Chord’s music publishing rights are administered through UMG’s Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), with recorded music managed by UMG’s Virgin Music Group (VMG).

About Apollo

Apollo is a high-growth, global alternative asset manager. In our asset management business, we seek to provide our clients excess return at every point along the risk-reward spectrum from investment grade credit to private equity. For more than three decades, our investing expertise across our fully integrated platform has served the financial return needs of our clients and provided businesses with innovative capital solutions for growth. Through Athene, our retirement services business, we specialize in helping clients achieve financial security by providing a suite of retirement savings products and acting as a solutions provider to institutions. Our patient, creative, and knowledgeable approach to investing aligns our clients, businesses we invest in, our employees, and the communities we impact, to expand opportunity and achieve positive outcomes. As of December 31, 2025, Apollo had approximately $938 billion of assets under management. To learn more, please visit www.apollo.com.