Rodgers & Hammerstein looking to sell itself: report
(Reuters) - The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization is exploring strategic options for its catalog tunes, including a possible sale of the company, the New York Post said, citing a source close to the situation.
The New York-based entity is looking to sell itself to a number of potential buyers and seeking more than $325 million in an auction, the paper said.
More than a half-dozen potential suitors -- including publishing arms of major labels and private-equity and hedge fund-backed collectors of music-publishing assets -- are putting the catalog's value at between $150 million and $200 million.
Current indications are that bidding will top $250 million, sources close to the matter told the paper.
The group's oeuvre includes the work of the late Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II -- the duo behind Broadway hits like "Oklahoma!" and "The King And I".
Those looking at the assets say there are opportunities for new owners to make money by investing as producers in big-budget revivals of hits like "South Pacific" and "The Sound of Music," the paper said.
(Reporting by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty in Bangalore)
