Photo Credit: Thomas Coesfeld, BMG CEO; Bob Valentine, Concord CEO
Global regulators are swiftly clearing the BMG+Concord merger, keeping the transaction on track to close in Q4 2026, pending other international approvals.
On Wednesday, German media group Bertelsmann said U.S. competition authorities have approved the planned merger of BMG (Bertelsmann’s music division) and Concord. The combined entity is valued at around $15 billion and would ultimately create the world’s fourth-largest music company behind Universal, Sony, and Warner.
The transaction will give Bertelsmann a 67% stake in the combined entity, while Concord shareholders will get a 33% stake and a onetime cash payment of $1.16 billion.
“Further regulatory approvals in other countries are still pending,” Bertelsmann said in an emailed statement. “Bertelsmann continues to expect the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2026.”
Similarly, the Bundeskartellamt has approved the joint venture between BMG and Concord, examining the project’s effects particularly on music publishing and music production. The authority took particular notice of the growing importance of the catalog business, which is expanding rapidly in the digital age. But the merger is not expected to “significantly impede” competition.
“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 This will strengthen Bertelsmann’s position in the music business, from which it had largely withdrawn some twenty years ago,” said Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt.
“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.”
BMG was established in its current form in 2008 after Bertelsmann sold significant parts of its former music business to Universal and Sony. The company has heavily invested in acquiring music catalogs since re-entering the market, and holds rights to major works and recordings by well-known artists and songwriters, including Bruno Mars and Kylie Minogue.
International music company Concord has long been a player in the record label business, in addition to its publishing activities. Like BMG, Concord also boasts an extensive catalog of music rights, including Creedence Clearwater Revival, R.E.M., and Miles Davis.
