Since 2011, KKR has supported its portfolio companies in awarding equity worth billions of dollars to over 60,000 non-management employees across more than 35 companies. RBmedia, the leading audiobook publisher in the world with a powerful digital distribution network that reaches millions of listeners around the globe, is the latest KKR portfolio company to experience firsthand the results of creating an ownership culture.

On July 26, following five years of notable growth, we announced the sale of the business to H.I.G. Capital. Since KKR’s investment in August 2018, RBmedia has more than doubled the size of its catalog – from over 31,000 to over 66,000 audiobooks – and expanded its distribution channels. During this period, RBmedia also experienced five years of double-digit revenue growth, invested in diverse content, and expanded into international markets.

In this video, CEO Tom MacIsaac, Chief Executive Officer of RBmedia, and members of KKR’s investment team discuss KKR’s journey with RBmedia and what the sale means for the employee owners. Several employees also share their immediate reactions to becoming owners in the company for the first time.

In 2022, KKR committed to deploying the ownership model in all new control investments across the entire Americas Private Equity platform, and we are working to expand this program globally. KKR is also a founding partner of the cross-sector initiative Ownership Works, a nonprofit on a mission to increase prosperity by developing and implementing broad-based employee ownership programs.