Jamen Capital, Merlin Complete Acquisition of Curve Royalty Systems

It’s official: Jamen Capital and Merlin have completed their acquisition of Curve Royalty Systems from Virgin Music Group, with the transaction receiving final approval from the European Commission (EC).

Why it matters:

• The sale was a condition of the EC clearing Universal Music Group’s $775 million acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings through Virgin Music Group.

• Curve was previously part of Downtown Music Holdings.

What it means:

• Curve is now an independent, standalone business, backed by Jamen Capital and Merlin.

• Richard Leach will continue as CEO, and the existing management and day-to-day teams will remain in place.

• Its products, services and client relationships will also stay the same.

Backstory:

• Curve was founded in 2019, and provides royalty processing services across recorded music and publishing.

• Its clients include Armada, Defected, Epitaph, Exceleration, Reservoir, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Virgin Music Group, and Netflix.

What they said:

• Richard Leach: “Completing this transaction gives Curve the independence, stability and backing we need for the next stage of our development. For our clients, it is very much business as usual: the same team, products, service and commitment to protecting their data and interests. What changes is our ability to invest more ambitiously in the future. With the support of Jamen and Merlin, we can accelerate innovation, develop new products and continue building the elite-level infrastructure that music businesses need to manage increasingly complex royalty flows.”