BMG and Concord have closed the merger they announced in April, creating a single company that will keep the BMG name and house more than four million works. The deal cleared its remaining regulatory steps and was confirmed on September 1, 2026.
Ownership settles at roughly 67% Bertelsmann and 33% affiliates of Great Mountain Partners. Bertelsmann also paid those affiliates a one-time cash sum of $1.16 billion as part of the close. Global headquarters sit in Nashville, with Berlin as the European base.
Bob Valentine is now chief executive. Thomas Coesfeld serves as chairman. The combined firm says it wants midterm revenue above $2.5 billion and EBITDA of about $1.2 billion, and it has named an executive team that mixes leaders from both sides, including Björn Bauer as CFO and Sebastian Hentzschel as COO.
Valentine framed the close as continuity for artists and writers rather than a rebrand exercise: same mission, larger catalog, more capital for rights and AI bets. For the wider market, the new BMG is another large indie-scale rights house with Nashville and Berlin as twin poles — and a board that still includes Concord founding partner Steve Smith.
Image: thematic stock photo (Pexels/Unsplash), royalty-free. Story facts verified from Music Business Worldwide coverage of the Sept. 1, 2026 close.