Believe
Paris-based digital music company serving independent artists and labels through brands including TuneCore and Nuclear Blast. A consortium of TCV, EQT and its founder proposed a take-private offer in February 2024.
Industry: Digital music distribution and label services | Location: Paris, France | Founded: 2005
About Believe
Believe is a Paris-based digital music company that provides distribution and promotion services to independent artists and labels. In a February 2024 statement it said its mission was to develop independent artists and labels in the digital world and that it had 1,919 employees in more than 50 countries. It operates through a portfolio of brands that includes Believe, TuneCore, Nuclear Blast, Naïve, Groove Attack, AllPoints, Ishtar and Byond.
Wikipedia gives April 2005 as the founding date. Denis Ladegaillerie is the founder, chairman and chief executive. The company went public in summer 2021 and was listed on compartment B of the regulated market of Euronext Paris under the ticker BLV.
On 12 February 2024 Believe announced that funds managed by TCV and EQT, together with Ladegaillerie, had formed a consortium to make an offer for all outstanding shares at 15 euros each, a premium of 21.0 percent over the last closing price. The consortium agreed to buy the stakes of the historical shareholders TCV Luxco BD, Ventech and XAnge, which held 41.14 percent, 12.03 percent and 6.29 percent. Ladegaillerie planned to contribute 11.17 percent and sell 1.29 percent, which would bring the consortium to 71.92 percent. The consortium said it aimed to take the company private through a squeeze-out.
Believe's board unanimously welcomed the proposal, set up a committee of three independent directors and appointed Ledouble as independent expert. The company said it expected organic growth of 14 percent for 2023 and an adjusted EBITDA margin slightly above 5.5 percent.
The sources read do not report whether the offer was completed or what Believe's ownership and results are in 2026. TechScoop's April 2026 article on PopArabia's purchase of Viral Wave named Believe, with Reservoir Media, as a music company that has expanded through acquisitions. No source read documents a Believe presence in the Middle East.
Leadership
- Denis Ladegaillerie, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer