Pandora has officially completed its acquisition of digital audio ad tech platform AdsWizz.
In the end, the $145m deal – initially announced in March – will cost Pandora $66.3m in cash and 9.9m shares of Pandora common stock.
An additional $5m in cash is payable upon achievement of certain milestone provisions in connection with the acquisition.
“Audio is the fastest growing format in digital advertising and the marketplace is rapidly evolving,” said Pandora CEO Roger Lynch.
“Completing the acquisition cements our position in the future of audio, making us more ready than ever to serve publishers and brands worldwide.”
The timing of the AdsWizz deal comes at an interesting juncture for Pandora: in Q1 this year, the company actually saw its advertising revenue fall year-on-year, down 3.9% to $214.57m.
However, in the same quarter, Pandora’s subscription business turned over $104.67m, up 61.3% year-on-year versus the $64.88m posted in Q1 2017.
Advertising made up 67.2% of all the company’s sales in the three months.
“Completing this acquisition cements our position in the future of audio, making us more ready than ever to serve publishers and brands worldwide.”
Roger Lynch, Pandora (pictured)
Alexis van de Wyer, CEO of AdsWizz, said: “We built the AdsWizz platform using innovative technology in service of a simple idea: provide value to all stakeholders in the digital audio ecosystem – including brands, listeners and publishers – with relevant, engaged and highly targeted advertising experiences. This will not change.
“We will continue to focus on building the best technology in the industry for our publisher partners everywhere, and on continuing to innovate and enhance our platform, which will be accessible to all.”
AdsWizz will operate as a standalone subsidiary of Pandora, continuing under Alexis van de Wyer’s leadership.
Concluded Roger Lynch, “As a publisher, Pandora has long understood the value that a sophisticated advertising platform can bring to everyone in digital audio. We are the leader in this space, and we remain committed to serving all constituents in the ecosystem.”
Pandora, which has taken to calling itself ‘the largest music streaming service in the US’, had 72.3m active listeners at the end of Q1 2018.
That represented a 4.4m fall year-on-year and a 2.4m fall quarter-on-quarter.
Pandora yesterday (May 29) announced that it is launching a $14.99-a-month family plan to rival that of Apple Music and Spotify.
The bundle allows up to six people to access Pandora on a single family deal.Music Business Worldwide
