Sony Music Publishing has acquired Monty Norman Limited, the company of the late composer behind the iconic theme from the James Bond franchise.
The transaction has not been publicly announced but was disclosed in a confirmation statement filed with the UK’s Companies House in March, and reviewed by MBW.
Sony Music Publishing (UK) Limited now holds all 100 shares in the company, according to the filing.
The filings do not specify the assets held by Monty Norman Limited or the value of the transaction.
Monty Norman was born in 1928 and died on July 11, 2022, at the age of 94.
He was born Monty Noserovitch in London’s East End and performed as a big-band singer in the 1950s before turning to songwriting.
His West End credits include the musicals Irma La Douce, Expresso Bongo and Make Me an Offer.
He also wrote songs for Cliff Richard and Tommy Steele.
He was the credited composer of the James Bond Theme, first heard in the 1962 film Dr. No.
Norman drew the theme from Bad Sign, Good Sign, a piece he had written for an unproduced musical based on V.S. Naipaul‘s novel A House for Mr Biswas.
The theme has featured in every subsequent film in the James Bond series, as well as in James Bond video games.
It was arranged by John Barry, who went on to score 11 Bond films.
The Monty Norman Limited shares were transferred to Sony on August 26, 2025.
They were previously held by Rina Norman, the composer’s widow, and Shoshana Jane Kitchen, his daughter.
Sony Music Publishing (UK) Limited was registered as a person with significant control over Monty Norman Limited on June 27, 2025.
The acquisition adds to a run of catalog purchases by Sony Music Publishing.
The company completed its acquisition of the entire music rights portfolio of Recognition Music Group from funds managed by Blackstone, in a deal Bloomberg reported was valued at between $3.5 billion and $4 billion.
That catalog spans more than 45,000 songs, including shares in Journey‘s Don’t Stop Believin’ and Mariah Carey‘s All I Want for Christmas Is You.
Sony Music Publishing and Domain Capital Group also acquired the catalog of country songwriter Miranda Lambert earlier in 2026.
Financial terms of the Monty Norman Limited transaction are not disclosed in the filings with Companies House.Music Business Worldwide