Believe on Sony sale: “That information is not true”

Believe Digital CEO Denis Ladegaillerie has vehemently denied reports that Sony is set to acquire the French-born service for a price between US$355-$444m.

Speaking to Music Business Worldwide, Ladegaillerie said the French music company, which has an office here in Australia, is actually raising funds for its own acquisitions.

Ladegaillerie said Believe had recently been “out in the market” to attract funding for two businesses it would like to acquire.

News that Believe Digital and Sony were in discussions about a sale was broken by Japanese business paper Nikkei. Nikkei reported Sony is in the end stages of negotiating a deal to acquire Believe for an estimated 40 billion yen to 50 billion yen (USD $355 million to USD $444 million).

When TIO reached out to Believe Digital regarding the report last week, we were told the company does not respond to ‘rumours’.

Ladegaillerie said earlier this year that Believe has been profitable for six years but he’s always open to a sale for the right sum.

“[…] like anyone else, we would consider it, but it’s not been the case so far,” he told MBW in March.

Founded in 2005, Believe Digital has long served as a leading distributor for independent artists and labels. Their market share in the distribution field was greatly expanded thanks to their acquisition of TuneCore in April of 2015.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.