Hanover-based SPV Records, the subject of numerous takeover bids in recent years, has agreed to start merger talks with music group Jack White Productions, of Berlin.
Should the two parties agree on terms, Jack White Productions plans to nab a majority share of 51% and gain an estimated 4% share of the German music market.
The publicly quoted Jack White Productions has an annual turnover of €24 million ($30 million) compared with €60 million ($75 million) for SPV, which is privately owned by entrepreneur Manfred Schütz. But, according to industry analysts, Jack White Productions’ profit margins are healthier than SPV’s margins.
Jack White Productions is well known for clinching Thomas M. Stein, the former CEO of Sony BMG Germany, to be the board’s chairman. Its labels include White Records, Trigger Records, VI Music and Miami-based Empire Musicwerks.
And 22-year-old SPV’s artists include German R&B act Xavier Naidoo, Italian singer-songwriter Carla Bruni, plus several rock bands such as international artists like Simply Red, Motörhead and Germany’s Fury in the Slaughterhouse.
Should the deal get the go-ahead, SPV owner Schütz will be appointed on the board of Jack White Productions.
