BMG-Concord Deal Approved by Competition Authorities in Germany and the US
Regulatory approvals in other territories are still pending
Regulators in the US and Germany have approved the merger of BMG and Concord. Though regulatory approval in other territories is still pending, BMG’s parent company Bertelsmann expects the transaction to close in Q4.
Why it matters:
The merger brings together two of the world’s biggest independent music companies.
It creates the fourth biggest music company globally, behind the three majors, with a value of around $15 billion, as per Digital Music News.
Leadership structure:
Concord’s Bob Valentine has been appointed CEO of the combined company.
Thomas Coesfeld will serve as Chairman, having already been announced as the new Chairman and CEO of Bertelsmann, effective January 2027.
Bertelsmann will own 67% of the combined company, with affiliates of Great Mountain Partners (Concord shareholders) owning the remaining 33%.
The affiliates will also receive a one-time cash payment of $1.16 billion.
What they said:
Andreas Mundt, President of Germany’s Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office), which cleared the merger: “The merger between BMG and Concord will create one of the largest music companies in the world. This will strengthen Bertelsmann’s position in the music business, from which it had largely withdrawn some 20 years ago. In the markets affected, the joint venture faces particular competition from music companies which, in some cases, are even considerably larger, such as Universal Music, Sony Music and Warner Music. As a result, the project could be cleared despite its considerable scale.”
👋 Disclosures & Transparency Block
This story was written with information from Music Week.
We covered it because it’s news of the regulatory approval of the BMG-Concord merger in Germany and the US.
