French music streaming service Deezer is merging with a special-purpose acquisition company and aiming to go public at a €1.05 billion, or about $1.13 billion valuation, The Wall Street Journal reports. News that a deal was imminent began swirling last week.
Deezer, which launched in 2007, is merging with Paris-listed I2PO SA, a SPAC backed by France’s Pinault family, the controlling shareholder of Gucci-owner Kering, as well as Centerview Partners banker Matthieu Pigasse. The blank-check firm is headed by former WarnerMedia executive Iris Knobloch.
The Paris-based competitor to Spotify Technology SA and other music streamers has 9.6 million subscribers and generated revenue of €400 million in 2021. The music streaming service offers listeners a catalog of more than 90 million songs, as well as podcasts, audio books and radio channels. Read more.
