BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Sage Music Academies’ music school has grown to a $3 billion valuation, thanks to a recent $1 billion investment in the company, an investor said Monday.
The $1.3 billion investment is the largest of its kind in the U.S. music business, said Jason Rieff, chief executive officer of the company that operates the Sage Music Institutes, the world’s largest music academy network.
It also gives the Sage a foothold in the music-tech market, Rieef said.
The academy’s growth is driven by the acquisition of a music-school incubator, which will help it expand its curriculum.
That investment was the culmination of a year-long campaign by the Sage to expand its education and grow its business, Riesff said.
The Sage is valued at about $2 billion.
“I think this is a huge milestone for us,” he said.
“It’s a big, big investment.”
The academy has had a turbulent time.
Its stock was trading at about 80 cents in late March.
It closed at $1 per share Monday afternoon.
Its net loss in the last year was $1 million.
The company posted a $1,600 quarterly loss in 2016.
The academy reported its first-quarter profit in May.
The acquisition, announced in September, is expected to bring in about $1 to $2 million a year in operating income for the next two years, Riedff said at the time.
The total cost of the new music-training facility is expected be about $6 million, he said in a recent interview.
An announcement on the company’s website said the new venture will help Sage “develop a broad range of products and services that address the needs of our students.”
The acquisition gives the company more room to pursue acquisitions and expands its reach to schools across the U, Riveff said in the interview.
He declined to say whether the company plans to buy the education business of an existing music academy.
Sage’s $1-billion valuation puts the company in the same class as music giant Universal Music Group and music technology companies such as Amazon, Google and Apple.
It also comes on the heels of a $2.7 billion takeover by the world leader of online music streaming, Spotify.