OD2, the company behind Europe's biggest digital download sites, has been bought by American digital media company Loudeye
OD2, the company behind Europe's biggest digital download sites, has been bought by American digital media company Loudeye, in a deal valued at $38.6 million.
On Demand Distribution Ltd (OD2), the largest digital music provider in Europe, was set up in 2000 by co-founders Peter Gabriel and Charles Grimsdale and provides digital downloads for leading European websites including Coca Cola, MSN, Virgin and MTV.
The acquisition by Loudeye creates the largest digital catalogue available, with 1.3m tracks now available to more than 200 companies in 15 countries:
"By combining with OD2, the leading digital music service provider in Europe, we become the largest business-to-business digital media provider in the world with the largest licensed digital music catalogue in the industry," said Jeff Cavins, Loudeye's president and chief executive officer.
"OD2 and Loudeye share virtually identical goals, vision and passion for the future of digital music and I see tremendous opportunities for our combined company to drive digital media deployments worldwide," said Charles Grimsdale, co-founder and chief executive officer of OD2, who now takes up a top position at Loudeye.
The senior executive team of OD2 has also entered into employment agreements and will remain in their respective roles to facilitate continuity of operations in Europe
