Pictured [L-R]: Sascha Lazimbat (Co-CEO Zebralution Music), Niels Walboomers (President Warner Music Central Europe) and Konrad von Löhneysen (Co-CEO Zebralution Music)
The deal brings the independent-label distributor back to Warner almost a decade after it sold the company. Terms weren’t disclosed.
Warner Music Group is acquiring Zebralution Music, a Berlin-based distributor for independent labels in Germany and across Europe, the company announced Nov. 3, Music Business Worldwide reports. The seller is Bookwire, a Frankfurt company controlled by the private equity firm Insight Partners. The price and other terms were not disclosed.
Zebralution will work with Warner Music Central Europe and its president, Niels Walboomers. Co-CEOs Konrad von Löhneysen and Sascha Lazimbat are staying on. Partner labels will get access to WMG’s distribution, analytics and financial tools, which run on Revelator, a company WMG bought in April.
For Warner, it’s a homecoming. WMG first took a stake in Zebralution in 2007 and sold it in 2017, as part of the divestments tied to its purchase of Parlophone. Germany’s collecting society GEMA later took a majority stake, before Insight Partners bought the company earlier this year.
“Our partners can expect the same people, the same approach and the same independence they’ve always valued,” von Löhneysen said, according to Music Week.
“Konrad and Sascha have built one of the most trusted homes for independent music in Europe,” Walboomers said, per Digital Music News.
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