Beverly Hills-based PodcastOne to be spun out as public company
Los Angeles-based livestreaming company LiveOne on Friday said it would spin off its podcasting division, PodcastOne, into a separate publicly-traded company.
Executives said the public offering would boost shareholder value and raise money to finance other podcasting acquisitions.
LiveOne acquired PodcastOne in 2020, when it was valued at $18.1 million. PodcastOne is now valued at $60 million, the company said Friday.
The Beverly Hills-based business has 42 employees and distributes more than 350 weekly episodes, including podcasts featuring radio personality Adam Carolla and Kaitlyn Bristowe, who starred on “The Bachelorette.â€
“PodcastOne has been a tremendous addition to LiveOne since our acquisition in 2020, and we feel strongly that the market value of our stock dramatically undervalues the sum of our parts, which includes our PodcastOne subsidiary,†LiveOne Chief Executive Robert Ellin said in a statement.
L.A.-based live music video streaming service LiveXLive said it plans to acquire PodcastOne, a Beverly Hills-based podcast production company. The all-stock transaction is the latest sign of growth in the podcast industry.
The announcement comes amid growing consolidation in the industry, as companies with roots in streaming and radio have purchased independent podcast outlets such as Gimlet and the Ringer (acquired by Spotify) and Wondery (acquired by Amazon Music).
“We believe that by trading as a separate public company, PodcastOne will have the opportunity to access the public capital markets as well as be better positioned to both acquire podcast platforms and attract significant podcast talent,†PocastOne President Kit Gray said in the statement.
PodcastOne said it has more than 2.1 billion downloads a year and is expected to have more than $9 million in revenue for the quarter that ended June 30.
The spinoff is expected to take place before the end of the year.
LiveOne was trading at $1.29 on the Nasdaq on Friday, up about 7%.
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