Activist investment fund Irenic Capital Management reportedly made an unsolicited takeover bid for Reservoir Media, the Nasdaq-listed independent music company.
That’s according to a report from Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, which said the bid, submitted in February, values Reservoir at between $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion, including debt, at a per-share price of $10 to $11.
Irenic is among Reservoir’s biggest shareholders, with a stake of approximately 9.2%, according to a recent SEC filing.
Reservoir’s shares jumped as much as 15% on Thursday (February 26) following the report.
According to Bloomberg, Irenic is 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.
Bloomberg noted that “it’s not clear if Reservoir is interested in selling”.
Any deal, however, would likely require the support of Wesbild Inc, which holds approximately 44% of Reservoir’s equity. Wesbild, as noted by Bloomberg, is a firm controlled by the father of Reservoir CEO Golnar Khosrowshahi.
Private equity firm Richmond Hill Investments also holds a significant stake in Reservoir, owning approximately 21% of the company’s equity.
Neither Irenic nor Reservoir provided comment to Bloomberg.
Irenic’s reported bid marks an escalation in the fund’s activist campaign around Reservoir, which has been playing out for over a year.
As MBW reported in September 2024, Irenic publicly called on Reservoir to undertake a “full strategic review of all alternatives to maximize shareholder value” and to form a special committee of its board to oversee that process.
At the time, Reservoir responded by saying that it “values shareholder input” while remaining “focused on executing our strategy to drive value”.
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.
Founded in 2007, Reservoir went public on the Nasdaq in July 2021 via a SPAC merger with Roth CH Acquisition II Co.
Today, Reservoir, according to its website, represents a portfolio of over 150,000 copyrights and approximately 36,000 master recordings, with titles spanning the catalogs of artists including Joni Mitchell, John Denver, Sheryl Crow, and more.
The company’s catalog has continued to grow in recent years via a string of acquisitions.
In September 2025, Reservoir acquired the catalog of jazz legend Miles Davis, and its most recent quarterly results – for the three months ended December 31, 2025 – saw the company confirm new deals with Gladys Knight and T.I.
In that quarter, Reservoir generated $45.6 million in revenue, representing 8% YoY growth, with adjusted EBITDA climbing 11% YoY to $19.2 million.
The Miles Davis acquisition followed Reservoir’s expansion into recorded music through the purchase of Chrysalis Records in 2019 and the $100 million acquisition of Tommy Boy in 2021.
The New York Times reported in September that Reservoir had spent $876 million on M&A (across catalogs and other companies) since its inception in 2007.
Manhattan-headquartered Irenic Capital 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 activist campaigns have culminated in the sale of the target companies.
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