Audiowell takes Sleep Cycle public in $226M reverse merger
What's the deal? AudiowellDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → is going public through a reverse takeover of Sleep CycleDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a deal valued at US$272M (roughly $226 million). Audiowell will take control via an in-kind share issue of 92 million new Sleep Cycle shares priced at US$2.96 each — a premium of more than 22%.
What changes? The transaction gives Audiowell about 82% of the shares and votes in Sleep Cycle, diluting existing shareholders by roughly the same amount.
What's the endgame? The deal combines Sleep Cycle's technical platform with Audiowell's music catalogue. "We are convinced that the combination of Sleep Cycle's world-leading technical platform and Audiowell's extensive catalogue of music has the potential to increase growth in both existing and new markets," said Anna Bäck, a board member at Sleep Cycle (translated from Swedish).
Gustav Forssell, chief executive officer of Audiowell, said he looked forward to developing "our joint offering within media and technology to help our customers feel better in everyday life" (translated from Swedish).
Who's behind Audiowell? The company includes profit engine QueenstreetDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. Its owner is 48% held by Streaming and Sync ABDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, controlled by financier Harald Mix's private equity firm AltorDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. Queenstreet founders and music producers Josef Svedlund and Andreas Romdhane each own 25% of Audiowell Holding ABDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → through their respective companies, Phatfly Music ABDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Pop-Notch Music ABDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
Why now? Breakit reported in January last year that a process had begun to sell Audiowell. The company recently decided on an extra dividend of US$12.1M at an extraordinary general meeting in the spring.
The signal: By entering the market through Sleep Cycle rather than a traditional listing, Audiowell sidesteps the conventional IPO route — folding a profitable music operation into a listed sleep-tech platform in one move.
Read more: breakit.se
Image credit: Brett Jordan
