Primary Wave has acquired Kobalt, the companies announced Monday, a major deal in the publishing landscape that turns Primary Wave into one of the most powerful indie music companies in the industry.
Neither Kobalt nor Primary Wave disclosed financial details of the acquisition, though Billboard previously reported that the deal could be worth as much as $1.5 billion. The deal is expected to close by the third quarter of this year. Kobalt will remain a separately run company under Primary Wave’s ownership, the companies said, with Kobalt CEO Laurent Hubert continuing to run the publisher.
“Over the many years Laurent and I have known each other, I have always been impressed by the remarkable team he has built, as well as the extraordinary growth Kobalt has experienced under his leadership,” Primary Wave CEO and co-founder Larry Mestel said in a statement. “This acquisition will only enhance his efforts to provide creators individualized attention and specialized support at every stage of their journey and to provide a very significant amount of capital to Kobalt for continued growth.”
Prior to the Kobalt deal, Primary Wave had already become one of the most prominent music companies in the business as a particularly active player in the catalog acquisition space, purchasing stakes in catalogs from the likes of Stevie Nicks, Bob Marley, Prince and Biggie Smalls among many others.
Kobalt started in the early 2000s and subsequently became one of the biggest independent music publishers in the music business, with a roster that includes Andrew Watt, Max Martin, Phoebe Bridgers, Rogét Chahayed and Paul McCartney among others. Kobalt had previously had a more robust recorded music division as well that was fronted by AWAL, though the company sold AWAL to Sony Music back in 2021.
Larry and the Primary Wave team are true champions of the music community, and their support underscores the value of the independent ecosystem we are all building,” Hubert said in a statement. “Our clients can remain confident that our mission and leadership remain entirely focused on their success. We thank our founder Willard Ahdritz, Francisco Partners and Matt Pincus for their incredible partnership over the last few years, which has positioned us perfectly for this next chapter.”
After the deal is closed, Ahdritz will step down from his position as Kobalt’s chairman of the board, the companies said.
“Primary Wave is the right home for Kobalt’s next chapter,” Ahdritz said in a statement, thanking Hubert along with Kobalt executives Jeannette Perez, Tomas Ericsson and Catrin Drabble, “and I step down as Chairman feeling confident about the future of the business, its people, and its mission.”
