Deezer on track for public listing after $1.1bn takeover offer
Music streaming platform Deezer is on track to take a second stab at a public listing following a $1.1bn (£845m) takeover offer.
The Spotify and Apple Music rival, which has 9.6m subscribers, is being circled by the founders of Paris-listed blank check firm I2PO and the family offices of billionaire businessman Francois Pinault, the chairman of Gucci owner Kering. The new entity will raise €120m amid plans to take Deezer public in Paris this July insiders told Bloomberg.
Set up in 2007 by French entrepreneur Daniel Marhely, Deezer first attempted to go public through a listing in 2015. The plan fell apart when Deezer called off the listing three days before a crucial deadline, citing difficult “market conditions.”
The company achieved French unicorn status in 2018 when it was valued at over €1bn following a €160m funding round which drew participation from Kingdom Holding Company and Rotana, Access Industries, Orange and LBO France.
According to sources familiar with the matter Deezer will seek to expand into additional markets and increase its range of partnerships after the takeover. Deezer, a loss making company, is expecting to reach profitability in 2025, an insider told Bloomberg.
Following the takeover Jeronimo Folgueira will continue in his role as chief executive while Stephane Rougeot will remain as chief financial officer. The firm’s chairman Guillaume d’Hauteville is set to be replaced by Iris Knobloch, one of I2PO’s founders and a former WarnerMedia executive.
News of the takeover comes after The Wall Street Journal last week reported that Deezer was planning to go public at a $1bn valuation through a special purpose acquisition deal with I2PO.
Competition in the music streaming business is fierce. Last year Deezer struck a deal with Ed Sheeran for exclusive rights to acoustic cover of two songs in a bid to gain an edge over its rivals.
Deezer and I2PO did not responded to Morning Wire’s request for comment by press time.
Read more: Deezer postpones planned IPO due to market conditions