BMG Rights Management co-owner Bertelsmann has completed a legal restructure that will allow it to take on new investors without diluting the power of its owners, the Mohn family.
As well as co-owning BMG Rights Management with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, the German media giant also controls European broadcaster RTL Group and FremantleMedia, producers of American Idol and The X Factor.
The legal restructure changes Bertelsmann from a joint-stock company to a ‘KGaA’ – a partnership limited by shares that will allow the company to issue stock and take on investors without pulling power away from its owners.
Although the company is calling the change “an identity preserving change of legal form”, according to Billboard, it does create potential for the company to gain more funding firepower.
The company has traditionally shied away from big acquisitions, focusing instead on organic growth.
It could also lead the way for the company to float on the stock exchange, something the Mohn family had been reluctant to do.
Source: FT
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