Paris headquartered music company Believe has fully acquired Doğan Music Company (DMC), which is claimed to be Turkey’s largest independent label.
Believe struck an initial deal with DMC in 2020 to acquire a 60% majority stake in the label for €18.8 million (net of €1.6 million cash acquired). That deal included the consolidation of Doğan Müzik Yapım ve Ticaret A.Ş. and Netd Müzik Video Dijital Platform ve Ticaret A.Ş. within the Believe group.
According to an update on Tuesday (August 6), Believe has now reached an agreement with Doğan Group to exercise a call option, acquiring the remaining 40% of DMC for a total of €38.3 million (approx USD $41.8m at current exchange rates).
Believe said in an update to the market on Tuesday (August 6) that the transaction is still subject to approval by the competition regulator.
The deal for Istanbul’s DMC marks the latest M&A move for acquisitive Believe, which just last month acquired a 25% stake in Bucharest-headquartered Global Records, which has offices in Romania, Germany and the US.
Global is claimed to be the biggest independent music company in Central and Eastern Europe.
Believe’s investment in Global and DMC follows the confirmation on June 24 that a majority of Believe’s share capital is now owned by a consortium consisting of EQT X, TCV, and Believe founder and CEO, Denis Denis Ladegaillerie.
As of July 15, the consortium held 96.02% of Believe’s share capital (see below).
Speaking exclusively with Music Business Worldwide in June, Believe founder and CEO, Denis Ladegaillerie said that Believe is planning to spend EUR €200 to €300 million per year on acquisitions to grow its global business.
Speaking with MBW, Ladegaillerie, said: “We are aligned with EQT and TCV to supercharge our existing organic growth. We will continue to invest in our organic growth strategy and make acquisitions to grow market share.”
He added: “The No.1 element of our acquisition strategy today is in the Top 10 markets. We want to become a No.1 player in those markets. We are already the largest player [on local repertoire] in France; the third largest player in Germany; the largest player in India; the third largest player in Japan. We want to do more. The US, UK, and Japan are all key priorities for us.
“At the same time, we will continue making very qualitative, targeted acquisitions across [smaller] markets as you’ve seen recently in Turkey, the Philippines, and elsewhere.”
Believe published its financial results for the first half of 2024 (the six months ending June 30) on Thursday (August 1).
The company, which trades on the Paris Euronext, generated revenues of EUR €474.1 million (approx. USD $510m) in H1 across its entire business.
Music Business Worldwide
