7digital finishes 24-7 acquisition, gets new top shareholder

7digital has completed its acquisition of music services provider 24-7 from MediaMarktSaturn. The deal for the rival business was first announced in March, and its completion has revealed more details about the arrangement.

Following the deal, 7digital will power MediaMarktSaturn’s digital music service Juke! It will also assume running client services for several of 24-7’s former customers, including Danish telecom operator TDC. In return for the 24-7 acquisition, MediaMarktSaturn will become the biggest individual shareholder in 7digital as well as a customer.

“We will make our services available to more music fans and jointly develop additional marketing concepts,” 7digital CEO Simon Cole said. “Furthermore, 24-7’s technology will make an outstanding addition to our services.”

“As a leading music retailer in Europe, music streaming will become an increasingly important business for us,” added Wolfgang Kirsch, COO MediaMarktSaturn Retail Group and CEO MediaMarktSaturn Deutschland. “As well as offering the 6 million visitors of our stores and online shops an alternative to physical releases, we can also offer added value to the playback devices we sell and attract new customers. Being a shareholder and customer of 7digital will enable us to jointly strengthen our existing offerings and develop new marketing models together.”

Anna Washenko