Muse Group Enters Next Chapter of Growth M use Group has announced the next chap- ter in its growth journey, following the successful conclusion of Francisco Partners’ investment in the company. the Muse ecosystem more connected and valuable for creators.”
“It’s been a privilege to work with Eugeny, Mo and the Muse Group team over the course of our partnership,” said Lee Rubenstein, managing director at Francisco Partners. Muse Group’s brands include Ultimate Guitar, MuseScore, Hal Leonard, Audac- ity, Audio.com and MuseHub. {mu.se}
Francisco Partners initially invested in Muse Group in 2023. During the partnership, Muse Group expanded its global footprint, strengthened its technology capabilities, com- pleted the transformational acquisition of Hal Leonard and delivered consistent performance across its brand portfolio. The concluding transaction between Francisco Partners and Muse Group was supported by senior credit facilities arranged by J.P. Morgan and cash on hand. Muse Group remains majority owned and controlled by founder and CEO Eugeny Naidenov, part- nering closely with Mo Chahdi as executive chairman and COO, alongside an experi- enced management team with expertise in technology, product development, growth, AI, global operations, finance and organi- zational scaling. “I founded Ultimate Guitar in 1998, driven by a passion to improve the lives of musi- cians every day. Francisco Partners helped us expand that vision to more markets, more products and more creators around the globe,” Naidenov said. “Muse Group is now ready for its next phase. We have the products, the team, the community and the ambition to keep building technology that helps musicians do even more with their creativity.” Moving forward, Muse Group will con- tinue to partner with and acquire products that support its mission. The company will look for businesses with loyal communities, strong product foundations, high-intent users and the potential to become more valuable as part of the Muse Group ecosystem. Muse Group remains committed to invest- ing in product innovation and AI-enabled creative workflows. The company’s ambition is to build the definitive technology platform for music learners and creators, helping them move more naturally from learning to produc- ing, recording, publishing, sharing, licensing and monetizing their work. “This is an important milestone for Muse Group and a strong reflection of what the team has built,” Chahdi said. “We are grate- ful for Francisco Partners’ partnership and the support they provided across this journey — helping to execute and fully integrate the acquisition of Hal Leonard and acting as a
valuable strategic partner in the strengthening of our global footprint, product offering and technology. Our next chapter is focused on execution, product innovation and making
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