Owners of Warner Music, whose artists include Madonna, plan an intitial public offering, according to a published report.

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The owners of the Warner Music Group are planning an initial public offering to tap into the improved value at the recording company since they bought it a year ago, according to a published report.

The New York Post reported Tuesday that the owners of Warner Music, CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr., and his partners Thomas H. Lee Partners, Bain Capital and Providence Equity Partners, could file for the offering as early as this week.

The filing would be for a minority stake in the company, whose major artists include Madonna, Green Day and Linkin Park, and whose labels include Atlantic, Elektra, Maverick and Reprise. The newspaper reported that the offering could raise $750 million to $1 billion, while valuing the company at $6 billion. It is the No. 3 music company in U.S. market share behind Sony BMG and Universal Music.

The group bought the company from Time Warner Inc. (Research) for $2.5 billion in a deal that closed in early 2004. CNN/Money is a unit of Time Warner.

A spokesperson for Warner Music declined to comment to the Post.

The company reported that revenue for the 10 months that ended in September was $2.5 billion, up 2 percent from the year-ago period, according to the Post, but it added that its turnaround plans are ahead of schedule, even with the modest gain in sales. The company forecast it would see at least $250 million of annual savings by May, achieved mainly by eliminating roughly 1,600 jobs.

The company's private equity investors have already recouped their $1.25 billion initial investment through the sale of high-yield bonds and other payments, according to the newspaper. The proceeds of the IPO would be used to pay down debt as well as going to the ownership group.

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