Helen Grant, the daughter of Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant, has received “a number of new offers” for her 10% stake in Led Zeppelin royalties.
Ian Penman, Grant’s lawyer, exclusively told LedZepNews that the release of “Becoming Led Zeppelin” in February has led to increased interest in the band’s music and Grant’s stake in its royalties. “We are currently considering a number of new offers”, Penman said.
The emergence of the new offers for Grant’s stake comes after LedZepNews previously confirmed in July that Grant had signed a deal to sell her stake in Led Zeppelin royalties.
At the time, Penman told us that “Helen’s shares are currently under binding/signed offer. In due course, we will be making an announcement about the deal.”
No announcement about that deal has been made and it remains unclear whether the agreement remains in place. It is also unclear whether last year’s signed agreement was the same deal as an £8.5 million agreement that LedZepNews revealed in September 2023.
Corporate filings in the UK continue to show that no deal has closed and Grant’s shares haven’t yet changed hands.
The deal could result in an outsider owning a stake of Led Zeppelin’s music for the first time, potentially pressuring the surviving band members to release more material to increase the royalties received by the buyer.
The identity of the investors making offers for Grant’s stake in Led Zeppelin has never been confirmed. The only named potential buyer was music mogul Irving Azoff. A source close to Grant previously told LedZepNews and music industry publication Music Business Worldwide that Azoff’s business Iconic Artists Group had expressed an interest in purchasing Grant’s stake.
However, Azoff told LedZepNews in July that he had “no knowledge” of any ongoing talks between his business and Grant.
The assets up for sale
LedZepNews previously revealed that Grant is selling her 10% stake in Superhype Tapes along with 10% of United Blag Productions, another business in the UK that controls parts of Led Zeppelin’s catalogue.
The other assets offered for sale are 10% of Bad Company Entertainment, a UK business that controls parts of Bad Company’s catalogue along with an unspecified stake in Swan Song, a US business also used for Bad Company’s music.
An unidentified person sought to sell a 10% stake in Swan Song through the website Royalty Exchange in 2022, reaching a deal to sell their portion of the business for $390,000.
Sources tell LedZepNews that Grant’s stake in these companies likely results in thousands of pounds of revenue every month, but has no power to control Led Zeppelin releases and she owns no stake in the band’s merchandising business Mythgem.
We previously detailed the band’s corporate empire which includes more than 50 businesses encompassing the band’s operations as well as personal companies controlled by the band members.
A public appeal for buyers
Grant has taken the unusual approach of publicly seeking buyers for her stake in Led Zeppelin’s catalogue, announcing her intention to sell the assets in an interview with The Times on July 10, 2023.
“I’d much rather have Dad back, but I know I’m bloody lucky,” Grant said in the interview, with the newspaper referring to “her coming windfall.”
Speaking to LedZepNews on the day the planned sale was announced, Penman explained that Grant had gone public because “I felt that we hadn’t necessarily reached all the parts that we need to reach so I suggested to Helen that going public might make sure that if there is a potential custodian of her rights in the future that may not be aware that she’s selling, on a worldwide basis, that we should try to find them.”
Days later, he told LedZepNews that the public announcement had caused Grant to be “deluged with offers”.
Valuing Led Zeppelin’s catalogue
An £8.5 million deal to buy Grant’s 10% stake in Led Zeppelin’s catalogue royalties would value the overall Led Zeppelin royalties business at £85 million.
Many well-known artists have sold their catalogues in recent years for far higher sums, causing confusion among some readers when the £85 million valuation emerged last year.
Bob Dylan sold his catalogue to Sony Music Entertainment in a deal rumoured to be worth between $150 million and $200 million. Similar deals include Bruce Springsteen selling his catalogue to Sony Music Entertainment for a rumoured $550 million, Mötley Crüe selling its catalogue to BMG for $90 million and David Bowie’s music publishing being bought by Warner Chappell Music for more than $250 million.
The lower £85 million valuation for Led Zeppelin royalties is likely because Grant doesn’t own a share of the band’s music publishing, nor does she have any control over the release of music.
LedZepNews understands that this means her stake is less compelling to music investors who typically seek to own majority stakes in catalogues.
Were there any provisions in Grant’s stake with Led Zeppelin? Was there a clause of first refusal to other band members? if there was a clause of first refusal did the other band members refuse? Thus allowing her to put her share in the open market.
I’m surprised it’s got this far. I would have thought given Jimmy Page’s close relationship with Peter Grant and his stewardship of everything LZ he would have been first in line to buy