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On Wednesday morning hosting platform Libsyn announced it’s purchasing podcast advertising company AdvertiseCast for up to $30 million. Libsyn also announced it has raised another $25 million to help fund this deal and future acquisitions.
Here are the deal details. Libsyn will acquire all of the issued and outstanding membership interests of AdvertiseCast in consideration for a purchase price of up to $30 million, of which $18 million will be in cash, $10 million will be in newly issued Libsyn shares, and $2 million will be in the form of an earn-out, which is subject to the terms and conditions of the purchase agreement.
AdvertiseCast co-founders Trevr Smithlin and Dave Hanley will remain with the company and enter into employment agreements as a condition to closing. The deal is expected to close in Q2.
Founded in 2016, AdvertiseCast is a self-serve marketplace that gives podcasters with over 5,000 downloads per episode access to make money roughly 1,200 advertisers including BetterHelp, Mybookie, Nutrisystem and others. There are about 1,500 podcasters currently using the AdvertiseCast network, which allows advertisers and agencies to buy and manage podcasting campaigns. Libsyn hosts 75,000 podcasts
AdvertiseCast’s revenue grew 45% year over year in 2020 to approximately $12 million. The company has had not outside investors
“I am thrilled to announce this acquisition. AdvertiseCast is a market leader in the podcast advertising space that will fit perfectly with our existing Libsyn 5 hosting platform. Since we began in 2004, our primary objective at Libsyn has been to enable independent podcasters by providing them with a strong set of tools to help them thrive,” said Libsyn President Laurie Sims. “AdvertiseCast expands our tool set to include a robust monetization solution that enables efficient host-read and programmatic advertising. We expect to generate meaningful revenue by offering the AdvertiseCast solution to Libsyn’s customers and leveraging the combined inventory to attract even more advertisers to the AdvertiseCast platform.”
Libsyn also announced it has received funding commitments of $25 million through a privately placed equity transaction. The financing will be led by existing shareholder Camac Partners, and new shareholder Hudson Executive Capital, among other existing and new investors. Proceeds of the PIPE will be used primarily to fund the AdvertiseCast acquisition and to provide Libsyn with additional capital for other acquisitions.