Lew Dickey
Modern Media Acquisition Corp. has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to combine with Akazoo Ltd, a global digital music streaming platform based in the United Kingdom, in a transaction that would value the combined company at approximately $469 million. Under the definitive agreement, MMDM and Akazoo will combine under a new holding company “Holdco,” based in Luxembourg, which intends to list on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol “SONG” following completion of the transaction.
In its ninth year of operation, Akazoo is a leading music streaming service specializing in emerging markets with 4.3 million premium subscribers in 25 countries throughout Europe, South East Asia, South America and Africa. MMDM is a special purpose acquisition company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, acquisition or similar business combination sponsored by Modern Media, LLC, an entity jointly owned by Lew Dickey, MMDM’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and an affiliate of Macquarie Capital.
The combined company will continue to be led by Akazoo’s experienced management team under the leadership of Apostolos N. Zervos, Akazoo’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer. Lew Dickey will serve as Chairman of the combined company.
MMDM Chairman & CEO Lew Dickey commented, “We are excited to enter into this transaction with Akazoo. It’s a terrific company with strong management led by Founder & CEO, Apostolos Zervos. As one of the pioneering companies in the space, they have spent the last decade building a profitable business model with a strong competitive moat in emerging markets. Music streaming is one of the best secular growth stories in global media and entertainment, and Akazoo is a top global platform that we expect will benefit tremendously from an infusion of growth equity and a public currency to participate in further industry consolidation.”
Apostolos N. Zervos, Founder and CEO of Akazoo, remarked: “This transaction marks the beginning of a new phase of growth for Akazoo. Our goal has always been to provide our customers with the most relevant and engaging user experience through deep knowledge of local tastes and an expansive library of music content. We have successfully executed on this mission since our inception in 2010 and have done so while obtaining profitability. We are now serving over 4.3 million premium subscribers, and, as we look to our next phase of growth, we could not be happier to partner with Lew and MMDM. As our Chairman, Lew will bring extensive media industry, public company and M&A experience to the Akazoo team. With a public currency and an infusion of capital, Akazoo will be positioned to expand more rapidly and efficiently than ever before.”
David Dorfman, Head of Technology, Media & Telecom – Americas, Europe & Asia of Macquarie Capital, said: “The announced transaction between Akazoo and MMDM is an exciting opportunity for shareholders and customers. Akazoo is a fast-growing and profitable business that is poised to benefit from the continued adoption of music streaming across mobile devices. We believe the proposed transaction will enable the company to continue to build on its presence in 25 countries and growing.”
