The Munich investor EMH Partners and the founding shareholders of Native Instruments are selling the majority of their shares in Native Instruments Holding to Francisco Partners, a global private equity firm specializing in investments in technology and technology-oriented companies. Upon completion of the transaction, EMH Partners and the Native founding shareholders will retain a minority stake in the company. Terms of the transaction have been agreed to remain confidential.
Native Instruments Founded in Berlin in 1996, the company employs more than 400 people. The company has seven offices worldwide and operates in more than 180 countries. The company aims to enable creative professionals to produce music without the high setup costs associated with traditional music studios.
Capital, digitalization and expansion expertise
In 2017, EMH Partners invested €50 million in Native Instruments, followed by another investment in 2020, which gave EMH a majority stake in the company. Dominik Schwarz, Partner at EMH Partners, says:
"Our partnership with Native Instruments underscores our strength as a leading partner for technology entrepreneurs in German-speaking Europe. We invest in technology-oriented mid-sized companies and support them with capital, digitalization, and expansion expertise. Francisco Partners recognized Native Instruments' excellent international position, strong management team, and significant future potential. With their extensive experience in developing technology companies on a global scale, we welcome Francisco Partners and look forward to continuing our partnership with Native Instruments."
Entrepreneurial DNA
And Daniel Haver, co-founder, former CEO and Chairman of the Board of Native Instruments, says:
"With its entrepreneurial DNA, EMH is an exceptional partner that has supported the company and management over the past few years during a time of change and resulting strong growth. I look forward to their continued commitment to Native Instruments."
Constantin Koehncke, CEO of Native Instruments, stated:
"Never before have so many creators around the world produced so much high-quality music. We're excited to partner with Francisco Partners to begin the next phase of our journey. They combine their global resources and expertise with our passionate team, our strong relationships in the music industry, and our track record of technical innovation. Together, we can realize our mission of empowering and inspiring the global community of music creators, helping them unleash their creative potential through even more seamlessly integrated systems and user interfaces. Thanks to EMH Partners' support over the past few years, we've been able to further solidify and expand our position as a leading digital music production company. We now look forward to working with Francisco Partners, EMH Partners, and our founding partners to continue this amazing journey."
