Finally, some good news for Beatport. The online music marketplace has seen quite a run of bad luck after being purchased by EDM conglomerate SFX Entertainment in 2013, but recent court filings indicate that the bankrupt company is looking to auction it off by May of this year.
Billboard reports that SFX officials talked with 24 different parties about the potential transaction, 18 of which signed non-disclosure agreements and performed due diligence. Opening bids on Beatport are due on April 28th, and will increase in increments of no less than $250,000 during an auction that will take place on May 3rd with the sale set to be finalized on May 5th.
SFX is reportedly seeking to eventually do the same with marketing company Fame House, which it also acquired in 2013.
Robert F.X. Sillerman founded SFX Entertainment in 2012 and took it public the following year, pledging to invest $1 billion in the global EDM industry annually. Sillerman’s general mismanagement of SFX’s assets saw the company’s stock value plummet from $13 to less than a dime, prompting the company to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy last month. Earlier today, it was also announced that SFX-owned festival TomorrowWorld will not continue into 2016.
Additional news is sure to trickle out from SFX Entertainment‘s court filings, so check back often for further developments.
UPDATE: Your EDM’s Matthew Meadow has gained access to legal documents from the court proceedings between SFX and Beatport. Among other things, they reveal that a firm called Moelis & Company LLC is overseeing the auction process, and that the opening bid will be $250,000. Read the full document below: