3/4/2026
Reservoir Confirms Receipt of Unsolicited Takeover Approach From Irenic Capital
Music Business Worldwide (03/04/26)
Reservoir Media (NASDAQ: RSVR) has confirmed that it has received an unsolicited, non-binding and conditional indication of interest from Irenic Capital Management, LP — one of its existing shareholders — proposing to acquire all of the company’s outstanding equity at a price of between $10.00 and $11.00 per share in cash. The announcement, made via press release on March 3, follows a Bloomberg report last week, which revealed that Irenic had submitted the bid in February, valuing Reservoir at between $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion, including debt. In its statement, Reservoir said its Board of Directors “is evaluating the indication of interest to determine the course of action that is in the best interests of the Company and all of its shareholders.” The company added that it does not intend to comment further unless it deems additional disclosure appropriate or required. Irenic is among Reservoir's largest shareholders, holding approximately 9.2% of the company's equity, according to a recent SEC filing. According to Bloomberg’s earlier report, Irenic has been exploring financing options for a potential deal, including discussions with private credit firms about loan structures that would be backed by Reservoir’s song catalog. Any deal, however, faces a significant structural hurdle: securing the support of Wesbild Inc., which holds approximately 44% of Reservoir’s equity. Wesbild is a firm controlled by the father of Reservoir CEO Golnar Khosrowshahi. Private equity firm Richmond Hill Investments also holds a meaningful stake in the company, owning approximately 21% of Reservoir’s equity. The Irenic bid represents an escalation in the fund’s campaign around Reservoir, which has been building for well over a year. In September 2024, Irenic publicly called on the company to undertake a full strategic review of all alternatives to maximise shareholder value, and to form a special committee of its board to oversee that process. At the time, Reservoir responded by saying it “values shareholder input” while remaining “focused on executing our strategy to drive value.” More recently, within an amended Schedule 13D filing in early February, Irenic said it may consider or propose changes to Reservoir’s ownership, capital or corporate structure, including a potential acquisition or take-private transaction — a move that foreshadowed the bid that subsequently emerged. Irenic Capital Management, headquartered in Manhattan, was founded by Adam Katz and Andy Dodge. Katz, who serves as Chief Investment Officer, is a former portfolio manager at Elliott Management; Dodge, Irenic’s Director of Research, previously held senior roles at Indaba Capital Management. According to the firm’s website, Irenic “invests in public companies and works collaboratively with firm leadership” with the aim of producing “improvements in operating and financial performance that create long-term value.” In practice, several of its campaigns have culminated in the sale of the target companies. Reservoir, which went public on the Nasdaq in July 2021 via a SPAC merger with Roth CH Acquisition II Co., is an independent music company founded in 2007. It currently represents a portfolio of over 150,000 copyrights and approximately 36,000 master recordings, with titles spanning the catalogs of Joni Mitchell, John Denver, Sheryl Crow, and others. The company has been an active acquirer in recent years, spending $876 million on M&A across catalogs and companies since its inception, according to a New York Times report in September 2025. That same month, Reservoir acquired the publishing catalog of jazz legend Miles Davis. Its most recent quarterly results — for the three months ended December 31, 2025 — showed revenue of $45.6 million, up 8% year-on-year, with adjusted EBITDA climbing 11% YoY to $19.2 million. The company also confirmed new catalog deals with Gladys Knight and T.I. during that quarter.
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