Warner Music Group resurrects its $1.8 billion IPO plan after canceling deal on coronavirus risks

• Warner Music Group plans to list 70 million shares on the Nasdaq exchange, reviving IPO plans that were first canceled amid the coronavirus outbreak.
• The label giant plans to sell shares between $23 and $26 each, according to a Tuesday regulatory filing, meaning the IPO could bring in as much as $1.8 billion.
• The company first announced its IPO plans in early February but pulled back after the pandemic disrupted physical retail operations, concert plans, merchandise sales, and video shoots.
• Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories.

Warner Music Group announced Tuesday it plans to list 70 million shares about three months after canceling the multibillion-dollar initial public offering.

The label conglomerate aims to sell shares between $23 and $26 each and bring in as much as $1.8 billion, according to a Tuesday regulatory filing. The company will list shares on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker WMG.

Warner Music initially planned to go public in the first quarter but pulled its IPO after the coronavirus slammed financial markets. The pandemic and corresponding government responses disrupted the company's supply chains and halted physical retail operations. Strict lockdowns further dragged on the firm's earnings as concerts, merchandise sales, and video shoots were indefinitely delayed, the company added.

Read more: Michael Gayed's fund relied on just one market signal to book a huge profit when the coronavirus crushed stocks — and his returns are still soaring. He breaks down his simple approach to crisis investing.

Warner Music is the world's third-largest label with a collection of artists including Bruno Mars, Camila Cabello, Ed Sheeran, and Janelle Monae. Labels operating within the company include Atlantic, Spinnin, Warner Records, Parlophone, and Elektra.

Warner Music said it will not receive any of the offering's proceeds and that parent firm Access Industries will offload the shares.

Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, and Goldman Sachs will serve as the IPO's lead underwriters.

Now read more markets coverage from Markets Insider and Business Insider:

UBS lays out market strategies for all 3 economic-reopening scenarios, from a successful recovery to a COVID-19 resurgence

Hedge funds are piling into healthcare stocks at record levels, Goldman Sachs says

'It works for anything I look at': BlackRock's bond chief who oversees $2.3 trillion shares the 'really simple' 3-part framework that guides every investment decision he makes — and outlines 2 factors he looks for in a company