LOS ANGELES — One of the world’s top spoken word audio on-demand platforms has just made a major play for one of the globe’s biggest streaming audio providers.
In an announcement made this morning from its headquarters office just south of London’s Tower Bridge in Southwark, Audioboom has offered to purchase Triton Digital for $185 million in an all-cash deal.
While Triton is largely known across the radio industry for its streaming audio solutions, this is a podcast play—and a large one that positions Audioboom as a dominant entity in the burgeoning play-when-you-want audio entertainment arena.
While Triton is a Canadian technology company with a large Montréal presence, it is headquartered in the U.S. and operates from six locations—including its main space inside Sherman Oaks Galleria.
In British Pound Sterling, the deal is valued at roughly £134 million; to fund the deal and to provide working capital for Triton, Audioboom plans to raise approximately £155 million, before expenses, through a proposed placing of new ordinary shares.
Cenkos Securities plc and Zeus Capital Limited have been appointed to act alongside Allenby Capital Ltd. as joint brokers to the Proposed Placing.
This would effectively constitute a reverse takeover, although this is a financial technicality and does not accurately describe the proposed transaction.
“There is no certainty that the Proposed Acquisition will proceed nor any certainty regarding the terms on which it would proceed,” Audioboom notes.
Should the plan proceed, Audioboom and Triton will combine to form Triton Digital Group plc.
Audioboom share trading was suspended prior to today’s opening bell.
Triton’s software as a service (SaaS)-based offerings focus on digital audience measurement; streaming platform and services; and audience engagement.
For fiscal 2016, Triton reported EBITDA of $9 million (excluding nonrecurring items).
The proposed deal also calls for Triton President/CEO Neal Schore and EVP/CFO Mark Rosenbaum to join the forthcoming entity’s board with their same roles.
Current Audioboom CEO Robert Proctor will remain as an Executive Director.
Audioboom hosts more than 12,000 content channels, with key U.S. content partners including Cumulus Media and its national programming unit Westwood One, and Associated Press.
