Stephen C. Swid, an investor and businessman whose varied career included deals for furniture and carpeting companies, an independent film distributor and the “21” Club , but who became best known for transforming Sesac, once an obscure licensing organization, into an influential force in the music industry, died on Sunday at his home in Manhattan. He was 78 .

His family said the cause was complications of frontotemporal degeneration.

After starting his career as a Wall Street analyst and money manager in the 1960s, Mr. Swid teamed with a partner, Marshall Cogan, to take over a series of businesses that put them on the map as aggressive young investors.

First, in 1974, was General Felt Industries, a major producer of carpet padding — an unglamorous but lucrative business that served as their springboard . Three years later, the two men took over Knoll International, the designer furniture firm (now known as Knoll Inc.), and in 1985 they paid $21 million for the “21” Club, a watering hole for the city’s power-broker elite. Along the way, they also made unsuccessful runs at the Boston Red Sox and Sotheby’s.

By 1986, Mr. Swid had split with Mr. Cogan and was looking for new deals when he learned that CBS Inc. was selling its music publishing division, CBS Songs, which controlled the copyrights to about 250,000 songs , including classics like “Over the Rainbow” and “New York, New York.”