Believe (France) - Dec 2007

unquote
01 December 2007

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XAnge Private Equity has invested €2m in equity in Believe, a music label focusing exclusively on online retail. The financial sponsor, which was introduced to the company by corporate financier FastNet Investissement, acquired a significant minority stake in the company.

Company

Established in 2005, Believe sells music in digital format, via legal international downloading platforms such as iTunes and Napster. The music label negotiates royalties-based contracts with artists or nondigital labels, in order to conduct their online sales. The firm has already paid €2m in royalties to its artists, which include MC Solaar, Barbara Hendricks, Bob Sinclair, Ennio Morricone and DJ Cam among others. The company is profitable and is hoping to continue growing, thanks to further development in France, Italy and Belgium, and an expansion into the UK, Germany and the US. The company believes it will benefit from a stagnation of illegal peer-to-peer downloading.

People

François Cavalié and Rodolphe Menegaux worked together on this transaction for XAnge Private Equity. Believe’s CEO Denis Ladegaillerie was previously in charge of Vivendi Universal’s internet and new media activities in the US.

Advisers

Equity - Logitas, (Technical/IT Advice)Equity - Reed Smith, Lucas d’Orgeval, Nathalie Heyl (Legal)Equity - Saint-Germain Audit, Frédéric Villiers-Moriame (Financial Due Diligence)Management - FastNet Investissement, Thierry de Passemar (Corporate Finance)Management - Meyrier Fayout Lacoste, Frédéric Fayout (Legal)

Sourced from: France unquote" 87 (Jan 2008)