In August, Native Instruments (NI) CEO Matt Galic and CIO/president Daniel Haver stepped down from their roles to make way for Constantin Koehncke and Robert Linke, respectively. Ownership of the music gear and software company has now exchanged hands to give investment firm Francisco Partners majority stake.
The transaction was announced on Wednesday by EMH Partners, the company that acquired the dominant share of NI in 2020 after investing in it for three years. Under EMH’s watch, NI reportedly saw a 60% increase in both product sales and industry partnerships, as well as monthly active users on their website doubling to 1.5 million. EMH, as well as NI’s founding partners, will continue to hold a minority stake in the company.
“There’s never been a more exciting time in music, with more creators producing more high-quality music all around the world,” said Koehncke in a statement. “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.”
“As an innovator in digital music creation, with a supreme brand recognition and outstanding software technology, Native Instruments is a perfect platform and partner for Francisco Partners,” added Matt Spetzler, a partner of the latter firm who will sit on NI’s board of directors. “We look forward to working together with the management team and the existing shareholder group, utilizing our broad operational and strategic experience and M&A capabilities to help the company accelerate its growth trajectory.”
The exact terms of the deal were not disclosed. It is expected to go into effect by the end of Q1 2021.
