Though its fate seemed up in the air earlier this week, Chicago indie label Bloodshot Records has been acquired by Exceleration Music, Pitchfork reports. The investment company, which was started by a few music industry vets, said via a press release that they'd come to an agreement with Bloodshot co-founders Rob Miller and Nan Warshaw.

“Bloodshot is a vitally important part of American music history, a genre-defining label founded on passion and vision, dedicated to bringing a unique set of artists from its musical orbit to the world,” wrote Exceleration partner Dave Hansen, who was previously GM at Epitaph/ANTI-, in a statement. “It represents exactly the kind of company that fits Exceleration’s founding ethos, which is to preserve and enhance the legacies of extraordinary independent companies and artists. We are honored to have the chance to work with the music from Bloodshot’s artists, to make sure the future interests of those artists are protected. We look forward to working to keep the Bloodshot history alive and relevant for many years to come.”

Earlier this week, Miller announced he was leaving Bloodshot Records, writing on the label's website that the offices were "permanently closed," and continuing, "Whatever happens to the Bloodshot name moving forward, whatever form the company takes, and wherever the artists go, it is, as always, the music that remains important."

A representative for Nan Warshaw, who resigned from her position at Bloodshot in 2019 and has been estranged from Miller since, told Variety, "Bloodshot Records has been sold to a company who will keep the label and catalog alive. Mr. Miller was well aware of this when he published his statement earlier this week, but chose not to reveal that for reasons that only he knows.”

Exceleration says that with the acquisition it would be “beginning a long-term campaign to revitalize the presence and availability of the Bloodshot catalogue, both digitally and physically.” Bloodshot's catalogue includes records by Old '97s, Ryan Adams, Waco Brothers and The Bottle Rockets, Neko Case, The Sadies, Justin Townes-Earle, and more. Whether or not Exceleration plans to release new records via Bloodshot remains to be seen.

Exceleration acquired independent blues label Alligator Records earlier this year,