Scooter Braun has been approached by former TikTok CEO and Disney honcho Kevin Mayer to acquire Braun’s company, Ithaca Holdings, though a source tells Billboard talks haven’t progressed beyond that initial overture.
Mayer has been in the process of raising money alongside former Disney COO Tom Staggs to form a new venture and has backing from Blackstone, which is expected to invest a minimum of $2 billion, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Mayer and Staggs are expected to focus on acquiring a portfolio of companies spanning music, entertainment, e-commerce and social media.
Braun, the SB Ventures founder and manager to A-list artists including Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, made headlines in June 2019 when Ithaca purchased Taylor Swift’s former record label Big Machine for a reported $300 million. That led Swift to speak out against the acquisition, claiming Braun had engaged in “incessant, manipulative bullying” of her over a period of several years. Last November, Ithaca sold Swift’s master recordings to Shamrock Holdings, again drawing the pop star’s ire. Swift has since begun the process of re-recording her first six albums, with the first of them, Fearless, set to drop Apr. 9.
In addition to Big Machine, Ithaca’s music holdings include Schoolboy Records and the Universal Music Publishing Group co-venture Sheba Publishing.
