Napster set for London listing after MelodyVR deal
Napster is reportedly preparing to list in London later this month following the $70m (£53.8m) reverse takeover by startup MelodyVR.
Napster will start trading on Aim from 26 February, according to the Guardian, the first time it has ever had its own IPO.
Virtual music tech company MelodyVR, which launched in 2018, announced it had bought the streaming service for $70m last summer.
The British startup uses virtual reality technology to allow music fans to experience gigs from artists. It said it would initially operate as independent businesses with the goal of combining the two in the future.
Napster has 3m users and had 10.8bn streams and revenue of $119m in 2019, lagging behind competitors like Spotify.
The Guardian reported MelodyVR said it is raising up to £10m to fund Napster’s expansion and plans to rebrand as Napster following an AGM later this month.
Swiss firm Nice & Green is reportedly set to buy £6.5m worth of the shares, with another £3.5m worth of stock for retail investors.
“We are looking forward to rebranding as Napster,” MelodyVR chief executive Anthony Matchett said who will now become the head of Napster. “This funding will support the development of our new Napster music service throughout the course of 2021.”
It has been a strong start to the year for London markets, having raised $2.2bn last month, including Moonpig and Dr Martens.
It marks just a portion of the $33.1bn raised from 126 IPOs, making it the highest January proceeds on record, according to Refinitiv Deals Intelligence.