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- December 12, 2023
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A Singapore-based tech company called FENIX360 has entered into a deal to be acquired by US-based blank check company DUET Acquisition Corp.
Described as “an artist-centric, multi-genre social media platform”, FENIX360’s deal with DUET, expected to be completed in the first half of 2024, will see it become a public company on the NASDAQ.
According to the announcement, the transaction values FENIX360 at $610 million.
Members of FENIX360’s leadership team have held senior positions in the music industry, for example Sandy Monteiro (CEO Asia), a former Head of New Business, APAC for Universal Music Group.
The company’s CEO, meanwhile, is Allan Klepfisz, an exec we wrote about back in 2015 for launching a free Spotify rival called QTRAX Music that was offering artists a 30% stake in its company at the time.
Klepfisz is also behind the FENIX platform, which the company says “has been created to help independent artists and creatives monetize their art much more lucratively”.
According to the FENIX360 website, the platform is “designed to give independent artists a fair go in the music and other art industries by providing a platform that allows them to access new fans globally, while earning additional income doing so”.
The company says that its FENIX360 platform lets artists “build a customized unique app in minutes”.
Using that app, artists can then monetize their fanbase via advertising, livestreaming and marketplace features. They can also manage all their other social media from within the FENIX360 platform.
DUET, the blank check company merging with FENIX360, says that it was formed to acquire one or more businesses and assets, via a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, and reorganization.
The company says it was formed to effect a business combination specifically with “middle market ‘enabling technology’ businesses or assets with a focus on eCommerce, FinTech, Big Data & Analytics and Robotic Process Automation”.
DUET is led by Co-CEO Dharmendra Magasvaran, who the company says has deep experience in the media and entertainment industry as well as the consulting, digital and technology domains.
SPAC mergers were big news in the music business in 2021 and 2022.
In February 2021, Anghami listed on the NASDAQ via a merger with Vistas Media Acquisition Company, a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
In July 2021, Reservoir Media became a public company, listing on the Nasdaq in the US under the ticker RSVR after closing its business combination with Roth CH Acquisition II Co. (ROCC)/.
In July 2022, Spotify rival Deezer made its official stock market debut on the Euronext Paris after combining its business with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company called I2PO.
Voice recognition company SoundHound listed on the NASDAQ in 2022 following its merger with Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners Co., in a deal that initially valued the company at $2.1 billion.
Not all music-focused SPACs have successfully completed a business combination, howwever.
For example, Edgar Bronfman Jr launched a $200 million IPO for a SPAC in August 2021 looking to “acquire a high-caliber company in the media, entertainment and technology space”. That SPAC, Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp 1, quietly wound down in August, according to documents shared with its investors and reviewed by MBW.
Meanwhile, Liberty Media Acquisition Corporation (LMAC), a special purpose acquisition company launched by media giant Liberty Media two years ago, unwound at the end of last year following a shareholder vote approving the move. That was because LMAC didn’t merge with a potential target after going public on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange in January 2021. The company raised $575 million at the time.
Elsewhere, a SPAC launched by long-time Geffen Records President Neil Jacobson, The Music Acquisition Corporation (TMAC), floated on the New York Stock Exchange in February 2021 under the ticker symbol TMAC.U, raising $230 million in the process. TMAC.U then delisted from the New York Stock Exchange last December, following a shareholder vote to liquidate, with the company having failed to find a business to merge with.
“The unique value proposition of FENIX360 as a hyper-agile and asset-light engagement platform with lucrative rewards for artists and fans alike provides both FENIX360 and DUET an unparalleled opportunity to reshape the creative and media space.”
Dharmendra Magasvaran, DUET
Dharmendra Magasvaran, Co-Chief Executive Officer of DUET said: “The unique value proposition of FENIX360 as a hyper-agile and asset-light engagement platform with lucrative rewards for artists and fans alike provides both FENIX360 and DUET an unparalleled opportunity to reshape the creative and media space.
“Tapping into the substantial digital advertising and digital commerce ecosystem will bolster FENIX360’s revenue generation abilities.”
“In the coming months, as we activate artists and fans in each market and deliver greatly enhanced income for artists and a much more engaging platform for fans, we would like to believe that we will become unstoppable.”
Allan Klepfisz
FENIX360’s Chief Executive Officer, Allan Klepfisz, said: “We are very pleased that this transaction and the consequent planned NASDAQ listing of FENIX360 should allow us to accelerate our global ambitions.
“In the coming months, as we activate artists and fans in each market and deliver greatly enhanced income for artists and a much more engaging platform for fans, we would like to believe that we will become unstoppable.”
Music Business Worldwide
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