Bertelsmann and Great Mountain Partners (GMP) today announced a definitive agreement to combine their music businesses BMG and Concord. As a result of the cash and stock transaction, Bertelsmann will hold a 67 percent stake, while Concord’s shareholders will hold a 33 percent stake managed by GMP and receive a one-time cash payment of 1.16bn USD. The combined company will generate a pro forma revenue of 2.2bn USD and an EBITDA of 730m USD in 2026. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to approval by the relevant regulatory authorities.
Thomas Rabe, Chairman and CEO of Bertelsmann, said: “The planned combination of BMG and Concord is a milestone in implementing our Boost+-strategy. Following the formation of Penguin Random House and the combination of RTL and Sky Deutschland, this is another major step in joining forces with partners to scale businesses and create significant value. We very much look forward to a long-term partnership with GMP.”
Rabe added: “This transaction is one of the largest in Bertelsmann’s more than 190-year history. Music has been part of our identity since the 1950s. After exiting the market in 2006 and re-entering in 2008, we rebuilt our music business from the ground up. With this transaction, we are further strengthening our media and content businesses and expanding our presence in the US, the world’s largest and most innovative media market. In 2025, the US was already our largest market, accounting for 28 percent of revenue and an even higher share of profits. We will continue to invest and grow our music business, both organically and through further investment with the mid-term EBITDA goal of 1.2bn USD.”
Thomas Coesfeld, current CEO of BMG and designated CEO of Bertelsmann, said: “Today is a historic day for BMG that builds on our significant momentum to accelerate the company’s strategic position and growth. We’ve been on a journey to position BMG into a new kind of music company built for the streaming and AI era. Following investments of more than 1.5bn USD from Bertelsmann, in content, and the strategic transformation with our BMG Next program since 2023, the merger with Concord marks the next consequential milestone in BMG’s success story.”
Coesfeld continued: “BMG and Concord are an excellent strategic fit. Both focus on IP-driven, scalable, integrated business models that are fully geared towards unlocking the full potential of our music catalog and creating new opportunities for artists and songwriters in the AI age. In a long-term partnership with GMP we will continue BMG’s growth trajectory in the dynamic and fast-growing global music market. Concord shares our focus on placing artists and their creative work at the center of everything we do. By joining forces, we will hold a uniquely diverse repertoire of more than 4 million songs. I very much look forward to working with Bob Valentine and the rest of the Concord team.”
Jon Rotolo of GMP said: “As long term media investors, we’ve always been impressed with Bertelsmann’s commitment to, and breadth of investments, in the media sector; it’s no surprise we would figure out a way to partner on our investments in music. This opportunity for BMG and Concord makes sense on so many levels and GMP believes the combined company is positioned as the premier partner for music-centric talent and creators with the scale of a major and the service and focus of an independent.”
The combined company will be named BMG. Its global headquarters will be in Nashville, Tennessee, with European headquarters in Berlin. Bertelsmann will appoint three representatives to the BMG board, and GMP will appoint two. Thomas Coesfeld will serve as Chairman of the Board, and Bob Valentine, currently CEO of Concord, will serve as CEO of the combined company. The company will generate annual revenues of around 2.2bn USD.
About Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann is a media, services, and education company with more than 75,000 employees that operates in some 50 countries around the world. It includes the entertainment group RTL Group, the trade book publisher Penguin Random House, the music company BMG, the service provider Arvato Group, Bertelsmann Marketing Services, the Bertelsmann Education Group, and Bertelsmann Investments. The company generated revenues of €19 billion in the 2025 financial year. Bertelsmann stands for creativity and entrepreneurship. This combination promotes first-class media content and innovative service solutions that inspire customers around the world.
About GMP
Supporting Concord and its predecessor companies since 2006, Great Mountain Partners (GMP) is a New Haven, CT based asset manager with more than $10BN AUM, founded by Alex Thomson and Jon Rotolo. GMP’s team are longtime investors in the media and entertainment industry with experience across music, film and TV, live events and other IP based assets. GMP brings a long-term and solutions-oriented mindset to partnering with institutional investors and portfolio company leadership.
About BMG
BMG was founded in 2008. With 16 offices in 13 core markets, BMG represents more than three million songs and recordings, including some of the most iconic catalogs and works by leading artists and songwriters such as will.i.am, Jean-Michel Jarre, Tina Turner, Jason Aldean, Jelly Roll, Paul Simon and many more. BMG is a wholly owned subsidiary of the international media, services, and education company Bertelsmann.
About Concord
Concord supports more than 125,000 artists and songwriters whose works are licensed, marketed, and performed worldwide. Concord's growing catalog of 1.3 million songs, compositions, sound recordings, films, plays, and musicals is one of the most impactful and culturally relevant collections of creative rights in history. Concord is headquartered in Nashville, with offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Berlin, Melbourne, and Miami.
