Apollo-Backed HarbourView Taps Agyilirah for CFO

(Bloomberg) -- HarbourView Equity Partners has hired a chief financial officer, further building out its executive team as the firm has embarked on a quest to acquire some of the most sought-after music catalogs around.

Michael Agyilirah joins the private equity firm this month to head its financial strategy. He joins most recently from the New York-based family office Radianx Capital, where he was head of finance, compliance and operations. Agyilirah previously served as an assistant vice president at Blackstone Inc., according to his LinkedIn profile. He also worked at Select Equity Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

“Excited and humbled to have Mike's tenure and expertise on the HarbourView team as we look to build and scale our firm,” Sherrese Clarke Soares, founder and chief executive officer at HarbourView, said in a statement.

Headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, HarbourView's introduction to the private equity scene comes backed with $1 billion in credit financing, with the lion's share of that from Apollo Global Management Inc. The firm is intent on investing in media and entertainment assets, especially music copyrights and content creators.

Read more: ‘Content is Queen' Investor Targets $20 Billion Under Management

The business of music catalog acquisitions has heated up as mega-stars have looked to cash in on their talent. Last week, HarbourView purchased the entire publishing catalog of Latin artist Luis Fonsi, best known for his 2017 global hit record “Despacito.”

Before starting HarbourView, Clarke Soares served as CEO of Tempo Music, a music-rights business and portfolio company of Providence Equity Partners. Her resume spans more than 15 years of industry experience, including her work as a banker in the entertainment practices of Morgan Stanley and CIT Group.

Clarke Soares, in an interview last year, said she had trademarked the phrase “content is queen.”

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