Report: Former Sony/ATV boss Martin Bandier pocketed $100m from EMI sale

It seems that Sony Corporation’s $2.3 billion takeover of EMI Music Publishing (EMP) last November has made a number of top echelon Sony/ATV executives richer.

A Page 6 report says that they shared in $200 million – and outgoing chairman and CEO Martin Bandier took the biggest chunk, pocketing $100 million.

This was through incentives offered by Sony Corp, which saw 77-year old Bandier collect $2 million from his 12 years at Sony/ATV in addition to his annual salary of $7 million.

In 2012, when Citigroup put EMP on the market for $2.2 billion Sony and Mubadala Investment bought a significant stake in EMP, 30% and 60% respectively.

Sony paid $320 million for that share.

Michael Jackson’s estate had the remaining 10%.

Sony took over the administration of the 2 million songs that EMP owned and administered, including the works of Queen, Kanye West, Drake and Sam Smith.

These administration fees ran annually from between $30 million and $50 million, or up to $300 million in the six years.

At that time Sony had offered its top publishing executives incentives to grow EMP’s value, including sharing in the spoils when it was bought out.

Last year Sony bought Mubadala’s stake for $2.3 billion, following that up a few months later by acquiring the remaining 10% from the Jackson estate for $287.5 million.

The move, finalised in November, made Sony the world’s largest music publisher, giving it ownership of 4.21 million songs after it merged Sony/ATV and EMP.

The combined company had annual revenues of $1.275 billion based on the most recent financials at the time, which had Sony/ATV generating $610 million and EMP $663 million.

The $2.3 billion acquisition gave EMP a valuation of $4.75 billion.

This was 116% up from when Citibank sold it.

The combination of “bonuses and ‘options’ or equity” made Bandier even more wealthy than he was.

Last September Hits Daily Double and Billboard revealed that Sony/ATV executives would get a share in the sale, and

An insider told Hits Daily Double that Bandier would get half of what the executives were getting.

“He had his hands in everything.”

The source added of Bandier, “He went to the smallest music publishing company, and then it ended up being the biggest.  He made a fortune.”

The source also claimed that the windfall annoyed others in the company.

“There are hundreds of other staffers who worked very hard on the [EMI] merger, and they got nothing.”

Aside from Bandier, Hits Daily Double said those getting the pay-off included global CMO Brian Monaco, co-president Danny Strick, global CFO Joe Puzio, worldwide business affairs head Peter Brodsky and outgoing worldwide president of creative, Guy Moot.

Sony has not commented on the reports.