The proposed merger of BMG and Concord has been cleared by competition regulators in the United States and Germany.
Germany’s competition regulatory agency, the Bundeskartellamt, officially cleared the deal on Friday (June 12).
Reuters reports that Bertelsmann said on Wednesday (June 17) that US competition authorities had also approved the merger.
“Further regulatory approvals in other countries are still pending. Bertelsmann continues to expect the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2026,” the company said in a statement cited by Reuters.
The merger was confirmed in April. In a press release issued at the time, it was also confirmed that the combined company will be owned approximately 67% by Bertelsmann, and 33% by affiliates of Great Mountain Partners, a long-time investor in Concord.
Affiliates of Great Mountain Partners will also receive a one-time cash payment of USD $1.16 billion as part of the transaction.
Bob Valentine, currently CEO of Concord, will lead the combined company as CEO.
Thomas Coesfeld, currently CEO of BMG, will serve as Chairman, and is also set to become CEO of parent company Bertelsmann in January 2027.
In May, the companies named Björn Bauer, a Bertelsmann veteran, as the combined company’s designated CFO, an appointment due to take effect once the merger closes.
The combined business will carry the BMG brand and have its global headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee.
Its publishing arm will be named BMG Publishing and its recorded music division Concord Records, with a European headquarters in Berlin.
Reuters described the transaction as one that would create the world’s fourth-largest music company.
Neither BMG nor Concord disclosed a headline value for the transaction, or a valuation for Concord, when they announced the merger in April.
Since 2021, BMG says it has invested more than $1.5 billion in music rights acquisitions, while Concord says it has invested more than $3 billion since 2020 across publishing, recorded music, theatrical rights and distribution, building a roster of more than 125,000 artists and songwriters.
BMG works with artists including Bruno Mars and Kylie Minogue, while Concord is home to recordings by Creedence Clearwater Revival, Miles Davis and R.E.M.
Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt (Germany’s competition regulator) said: “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.”
“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.”
“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.”
Andreas Mundt, Bundeskartellamt
Germany’s Bundeskartellamt said it examined the deal’s effects on music publishing and recorded music, taking particular account of the growing importance of the catalog business as music streaming expands digital distribution.
The authority concluded that the BMG/Concord combination would not significantly impede effective competition.
