Sedan nystarten 2008 har BMG:s musikbolag varit ett samarbete med det amerikanska venturebolaget KKR. Nu köper tyska BMG ut sin partners 51% och blir ensamma ägare.
BMG Rights, ägt av tyska Bertelsmanngruppen, har främst investerat i låtkkataloger – senast köpte man Virgins och Famous kataloger – men har även köpt masterrättigheter – senast handlade det om uppmärksammade köp av Mute och Sanctuary. När BMG runt årskiftet bjöd på delar av EMI Music, en affär som togs hem av Warner Music, ryktades det att KKR var mer ivriga i skivbolagsinvesteringar än partnern BMG. Det har ännu inte framkommit om EMI-affären varit avgörande för det som nu skett.
Bertelsmanns VD Thomas Rabe säger till brittiska CMU:
“This is a great day for Bertelsmann: we are bringing the music home to our group. A few years after our exit from the traditional music business, in association with KKR, we have succeeded in building the world’s fourth largest music rights management business. Our partnership made it possible for BMG to take advantage of consolidation opportunities and to rapidly advance the organic expansion of the business. I thank them for an excellent collaboration”.
KKR:s Europachef Johannes Huth kommenterar:
“Our innovative partnership with Bertelsmann, which combined the professional expertise of a global media company with the financial strength, network and business-building expertise of KKR, was a complete success. We explored new business approaches with Bertelsmann; BMG did pioneering work in the music rights market with its digital, service-focused business approach. The model of a ‘growth and build’ partnership between a corporate group and KKR is bound to be seen more often in the future”.
BMG Rights VD Hartwig Masuch säger till CMU:
“For BMG, this is a return home. Being a subsidiary of one of the world’s leading media companies opens up more fields of cooperation for us and our customers in the future, and we look forward to many new, long-term development opportunities. The worldwide increase in the use of music, and the emergence of new digital business models offer a variety of opportunities that we will actively explore. We are grateful to KKR for always sharing our vision of an alternative, service-oriented company in the music rights market, and for actively supporting us with their team these past three and a half years. Without KKR, this development would not have been possible”.
Köpesumman för KKR:s 51% i det gemensamma bolaget blev drygt 700 miljoner dollar. I amerikanska medier sägs att BMG närmast siktar in sig på att köpa Concord Music Group, värderat till 100 miljoner dollar.
I Sverige heter bolaget BMG Chrysalis och leds av Sanken Sandqvist, gällande masterhanteringen samarbetar man med Sony Music.
Lars Nylin
