A three-month auction that caught the interest of 14 bidders has recently closed for SONGS Music Publishing. The SONGS catalog included smash hits like Lorde’s “Royals”; The Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face,” “The Hills,” and “Starboy“; Major Lazer’s “Lean On“; Desiigner’s “Panda“; and Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk.” The winner of the auction was Kobalt Music Publishing, which closed at right around $160 million. Matt Pincus, SONGS founder and CEO, did not state the exact sale price.

SONGS Music Publishing received a handful of offers that ranged from much lower than $100 million to $120 million. However, Kobalt recently made an announcement that they raised $600 million in equity and debt to purchase various music assets, such as SONGS. This recent announcement and money allowed Kobalt to get leverage on the other bidders. Due to the sale to Kobalt Music Publishing being an asset instead of an entity, the SONGS executives didn’t have to sign a non-compete clause.

Ron Perry now has a bit more free time on his hands; however, he is a big contender in the leading role at Columbia Records. This position has been empty since Rob Stringer was promoted to CEO of Sony Music back in April of 2017. Both Matt Pincus and Rob Perry will remain partners in the record label they launched with Barry Weiss called RECORDS.

Pincus remains extremely active within the music industry, sitting on the ASCAP and NMPA boards, told Billboard, “I’m probably not going to an independent music publishing company right now. It’s a difficult time because the valuations are very, very, very high.”