The Austrian Competition Authority has approved BMG’s proposed acquisition of Germany’s largest independent record label, Telamo, with immediate effect.

Telamo is the leading player in the German market for Schlager music. The acquisition includes Telamo and its labels as well as the leading digital offering Schlager für Alle, which has over 1.7 million users via Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.

Telamo this week celebrating a Number One album in the Official German Charts with Giovanni Zarrella’s Per Sempre, which beat Madonna’s latest album to the top spot. Per Sempre is Telamo’s 7th Number One album and one of 21 Top 10 albums in the GSA region this year.

Secured in a competitive process, Telamo is BMG’s biggest single label acquisition in Germany to date. Globally it is BMG’s largest label investment since the acquisition of Nashville-based independent country music powerhouse BBR Music Group in 2017.

Telamo was founded in 2012 by Kathleen Herrmann, Ken Otremba, and Marko Wünsch. All 29 employees as well as Managing Director Ken Otremba, will remain with the company. Telamo will continue to maintain its offices in Munich and Berlin. Kathleen Herrmann and Marko Wünsch will continue to act as consultants for Telamo. Best-selling artists include Giovanni Zarrella, Eloy de Jong, Marianne Rosenberg, Ross Antony, Die Amigos, Thomas Anders and Florian Silbereisen, Daniela Alfinito, and Fantasy among many others.

Martin Dannhoff, Senior Vice President in the Corporate Legal Department of BMG parent company Bertelsmann, said, “Although the bulk of Telamo’s business is done in the Federal Republic of Germany, this transaction required clearance by the Austrian regulators. We are pleased it has now been cleared to go ahead.”