Francisco Partners, the investment firm which owned a majority stake in Native Instruments until it declared insolvency earlier this year and was sold to inMusic, has exited its minority investment in global music technology and publishing company Muse Group.

The news has been announced by Muse Group, as it looks forward to the “next chapter in its growth journey”.

The Muse Group is a global music company which owns and develops some of the world’s leading music software and platforms, including Hal Leonard, Ultimate Guitar, MuseScore, Audacity and more.

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So why is Francisco Partners’ exit significant? Until earlier this year, the investment firm owned a majority stake in leading music technology company Native Instruments, which declared insolvency in January, and was later sold to inMusic, the company that owns Moog and Akai Professional.

So its move to withdraw investment from Muse Group could signal its shift away from music companies as an investment focus. That said, Francisco remains an investor in ticketing platform Eventbrite, as well as a vast number of other companies specialising in areas from cybersecurity to payment systems.

“It has been a privilege to work with Eugeny, Mo, and the Muse Group team over the course of our partnership,” says Lee Rubenstein, Managing Director at Francisco Partners. “Since our initial investment, the company has delivered impressive growth, completed its transformational acquisition of Hal Leonard, and built a leading global music technology platform. We are proud of the company’s accomplishments and are confident Muse Group is well positioned for its next chapter of growth.

Muse Group says it will continue to seek businesses with “loyal communities, strong product foundations, high-intent users, and the potential to become more valuable as part of the Muse Group ecosystem.

“I founded Ultimate Guitar in 1998, driven by a passion to improve the lives of musicians every day,” says Eugeny Naidenov, founder and CEO of the Muse Group.

“Francisco Partners helped us expand that vision to more markets, more products, and more creators around the globe. 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.”

Learn more about Francisco Partners and Muse Group.

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