MARCH 11 I HAL LEONARD I ACQUISITION
Hal Leonard to Acquire De Haske

Hal Leonard has reached an agreement to acquire a majority equity position in Holland-based De Haske, a leading European publisher of instrumental music. The companies anticipate the deal — negotiated by Hal Leonard’s President Larry Morton and De Haske Co-Directors Jan de Haan and Garmt Van der Veen — to close in the coming weeks. Terms were not disclosed.

“Hal Leonard and De Haske are among the few companies that thrive as publishers and distributors,” Morton said. “We are very excited about the ramifications of this agreement, both in increasing sales of Hal Leonard publications around the world and creating new De Haske publications for sale in the United States.”

de Haan will sell his shares in the company but will remain a creative adviser and exclusive composer, moving forward in a consultancy capacity. Van der Veen will take on responsibilities as managing director and oversee De Haske’s operations. Hal Leonard Senior Vice President Herman Knoll will move to Holland during the ownership transition period and work closely with Van der Veen.

“As one can imagine, De Haske has been a true labor of love for me from the beginning,” de Haan said. “I am extremely confident that the company will be in the best possible hands under the able guidance of Hal Leonard and with Garmt at the helm.”

Hal Leonard and De Haske have worked together since the spring of 1999. Hal Leonard has exclusively distributed publications from De Haske and its imprints in North America, Australia and other international territories. The De Haske catalog boasts more than 10,000 publications. De Haske has distributed certain segments of Hal Leonard’s educational music catalog, particularly concert band and wind ensemble arrangements, in Europe. De Haske has also translated flagship Hal Leonard methods, such as Essential Elements, the Hal Leonard Student Piano Library and FastTrack, into various European languages for sale abroad.

“We’ve worked with De Haske for nearly a decade and have always had the utmost respect for their operations,” said Keith Mardak, Hal Leonard chairman and CEO. “This is a perfect opportunity for us to expand our global reach, particularly in the distribution of our band and orchestra catalog.”

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