Spotify Technology SA.’s smaller French rival Deezer looks to go public via a SPAC merger backed by billionaire Francois Pinault’s investment group and investment banker Matthieu Pigasse, the Financial Times reports.
Deezer merged with I2PO, a Paris-listed special purpose acquisition company.
The SPAC raised €135 million in the form of Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) financing.
France’s billionaire Pinault family backed the SPAC through its Artemis investment arm, alongside Iris Knobloch, a director at Lazard Ltd. and former president of Warner Bros.Discovery Inc. in France and Germany, and Picasso, head of Centerview Partners in France.
The deal values the streaming service at €1.05 billion.
Deezer has 9.6 million paying subscribers compared to Spotify’s 180 million. In 2021, Deezer last year made up about 2 percent of global music streaming subscribers, compared to Spotify’s 31 percent, Apple Inc.’s 15 percent, and Amazon.com Inc.’s 13 percent.
