Native Instruments has announced that Francisco Partners, a global investment firm, is to become the majority shareholder of the company. Both NI and EMH Partners - another firm that’s invested heavily in NI over the past few years - are selling shares to Francisco Partners but will remain involved as significant minority shareholders.
This news comes five months after NI Co-Founder and CEO Daniel Haver and Chief Innovation Officer and President Mate Galic stepped down from their roles, making way for a new leadership team.
NI says that the new arrangement will help it to “realise its ambitious vision to create a more seamless experience for music creators of all levels”.
What this means in practice remains to be seen, but Constantin Koehncke, CEO of Native Instruments, is bullish about the future.
“There’s never been a more exciting time in music, with more creators producing more high-quality music all around the world,” he says.
“We’re thrilled to team up with Francisco Partners to enter the next phase of our journey, combining their global resources and expertise with our passionate team, deep relationships within music and proven track record of technical innovation.
“Together we can realize our mission to empower and inspire the global community of music creators and help them to unlock their creative potential.”
Matt Spetzler, Co-Head Europe and Partner at Francisco Partners, who will join the Native Instruments board of directors, adds: “As an innovator in digital music creation, with supreme brand recognition and outstanding software technology, Native Instruments is a perfect platform and partner for Francisco Partners.
“We look forward to working together with the management team and the existing shareholder group, utilising our broad operational and strategic experience and M&A capabilities to help the company accelerate its growth trajectory.”
