Kobalt is an independent music services and rights management company providing publishing administration, royalty collection, and creative services to songwriters and publishers. Founded in 2000 by Willard Ahdritz, it built a technology-driven platform to track and collect royalties across digital and traditional channels for a roster including Paul McCartney, Foo Fighters, and Max Martin. One of the largest independent music publishers, it operates Kobalt Music Publishing and the AMRA digital collection society. Primary Wave Music completed its acquisition of Kobalt from Francisco Partners on July 7, 2026, in a deal reported at about $1.5 billion; Kobalt continues as a standalone company.
Kobalt has been acquired
This company is no longer available on our private secondary market.
Company data and valuation marks are estimates and may be incomplete, stale, erroneous, or revised.
Founded
2000
Employees
501–1,000
Total Funding
$305M
6 rounds
Latest Valuation
$0.79B
Oct 12, 2017
Primary Wave closed its roughly $1.5B acquisition of Kobalt from Francisco Partners; Kobalt stays standalone under CEO Laurent Hubert.
Change of control completed; no public-market liquidity path implied
Funding data and valuation marks are estimates and may be incomplete, stale, erroneous, or revised.
Rounds in grey italics are unconfirmed.
Total raised $305M across 6 rounds
Last updated 10-11-2026
| Date | Round | Amount Raised | Valuation | Lead Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 5, 2019 | Series E TechCrunch | $100M | — | |
| Oct 12, 2017 | Series D extension | $14M | $0.79B | Section 32 |
| May 8, 2017 | Series D TechCrunch | $75M | $0.78B | Hearst Entertainment |
Funding data and valuation marks are estimates and may be incomplete, stale, erroneous, or revised.
Entry · Series D
$775M
May 2017
Kobalt today
$789M
Oct 2017 · latest mark
Kobalt multiple
1.0x
valuation uplift since first round
Y-axis is logarithmic. Hollow dots = estimated valuations. Does not represent realized investor returns.
Laurent Hubert
Chief Executive Officer
Willard Ahdritz
Founder & Chairman
Competitor list is illustrative and may be incomplete, stale, or erroneous.
BMG Rights Management
Berlin-based independent music publisher and recorded music company; one of the world's largest independent music rights managers.
Concord
Independent music company spanning publishing, recorded music, and theatrical rights, with a large administration business.
Downtown Music Holdings
Independent music services and publishing company offering rights administration via Songtrust and CD Baby distribution.
Reservoir Media
Independent music publisher and recorded music company listed on NASDAQ.
Primary Wave Music
Independent music publisher and IP investor focused on iconic catalogs (Bob Marley, Prince, Whitney Houston); announced acquirer of Kobalt in 2026.
Sony Music Publishing
Music publishing arm of Sony Music Entertainment; one of the three major music publishers globally.
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