French Urban Media company Trace TV has completed an MBO, leaving chairman and CEO Olivier Laouchez and his management team with a 51% holding in the company.
Citizen Capital and Entrepreneur Venture hold the remaining 49% in the newly formed Trace Partners. Trace was previously owned by Alliance Trace Media, a Dutch holding company controlled by Goldman Sachs’ Urban Investment Group.
Trace is the second most watched music channel in France and has more than 20 million subscribers in 150 countries, of which 9 million are in Europe, 6 million in Africa and 1 million in Asia. Over 50% of revenues come from emerging markets, boosted by Trace’s position as the number one music channel in Africa.
Already profitable three years after launch, the company is predicting revenues of €12 million for 2010.
Further launches are planned including Trace Sports HD.