- Spotify Technology SA's (NYSE:SPOT) smaller French rival Deezer looks to go public via a SPAC merger backed by billionaire Francois Pinault's investment group and investment banker Matthieu Pigasse, the Financial Times reports.
- Deezer merged with I2PO, a Paris-listed special purpose acquisition company.
- The SPAC raised €135 million in the form of Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) financing.
- France's billionaire Pinault family backed the SPAC through its Artemis investment arm, alongside Iris Knobloch, a director at Lazard Ltd (NYSE:LAZ) and former president of Warner Bros.Discovery Inc (NASDAQ:WBD) in France and Germany, and Picasso, head of Centerview Partners in France.
- The deal values the streaming service at €1.05 billion.
- Deezer has 9.6 million paying subscribers compared to Spotify's 180 million. In 2021, Deezer last year made up about 2% of global music streaming subscribers, compared to Spotify's 31%, Apple Inc's (NASDAQ:AAPL) 15%, and Amazon.com Inc's (NASDAQ:AMZN) 13%.
- Price Action: SPOT shares closed lower by 1.28% at $134.52 on Monday.
- Photo via Company Website
