📢 [03/19] An update from Nick Williams, CEO of Native Instruments
Uh oh… 😐
According to an article by Create Digital Music (CDM), Native Instruments is currently undergoing preliminary insolvency proceedings:
To access and read insolvency documents:
*Native Instruments*
💡 What this means
❌ What this doesn't mean
(Snippets taken from Production Expert)
Articles / Timeline of events
Date
News
12-04-2025
The European Commission clears acquisition of Native Instruments Group by Bridgepoint and Bain Capital Credit(Unconfirmed: Deal apparently fell through and the insolvency is the result of that.)
01-27-2026
Native Instruments GmbH is in preliminary insolvency | CDM
01-28-2026
Plugin Alliance says it is "business as usual" | CDM
01-29-2026
Statement from Nick Williams, CEO of Native Instruments
(Also available on ni-japan.jp)
03-19-2026
An update from Nick Williams, CEO of Native Instruments
I will continuously update this post as we learn more.
As per Jeremy_NI's post:
Any further updates will be shared through our official channels when appropriate.
That would certainly be an interesting acquisition. And an addition to their Creative bundle…
Very bad news indeed. There was no NI stall @NAMM this year which did seem a bit ominous (I think they said they had a room booked to meet investors and develop NKS partnerships, but it sounds more like they might have been talking to possible buyers for NI?)
Duplicate post…
First off there are a wide range of "receivership" types of bankrupt forms and actions. People often forget there have been a number of car manufacturers that ended up in bankrupcty, but those would be termed as curative actions which would allow the company relief from certain debts while reorganizing operations to be able to get the books back in shape. It's not a good thing, but it doesn't mean the end of anything. It could certainly mean it may be bought out by another company at some point if that's the best curative option.
Yes the whole point of receivership or administration is to provide the company concerned with a possible route out of trouble rather than immediately going bankrupt. It's never a good sign though. Especially not for the company's customers or creditors.
That's what I was thinking @Super8boy and what with that recent post about Superbooth (in May) maybe something's already been discussed…
I'm in anxious mode at the moment for real life reasons, so I trust and hope that @DunedinDragon is correct and I was overreacting and we see some reasonable continuation of the company.
Apple bought Beats in 2014 for $3B… that worked out OK. And the purchase of Logic Pro worked out pretty well too. It's a good fit.
It is now appearing that this announcement:
Was actually done by Bridgeport back on Nov 20, 2025
It also appears that this deal has fallen through - hence the announcements flying around today.
VP
Yeah - great fit if you are an Apple user.
PC users of NI outnumber Mac users 10-1 with ease.
So no - it would most certainly not be a great fit for us.
Why dont they change the subscription to rent to own then it would feel more like you've invested in something instead of feeling like you're giving away free money with nothing to show for at the end of it. Just a thought
Ni has tried every which way of selling their stuff over the years.
Yet all of those methods it seems - given today's announcement - were still not enough.
this broke my heart.
Interesting interview on Produce Like A Pro channel between Dirk Ulrich and Warren Huart at Namm last week where Dirk was very scathing about how things were being run at NI by the bankers.
If the acquisition falls through would be good to see Dirk buy it all via his Rockforce Group
Apple could certainly keep Windows versions going if the market for customers are there. And wow - the resources that potentially could be brought to development in both hardware and software!
