Amazon Agrees to Buy Podcast Startup Wondery
31 December 2020 - 8:07AM
Dow Jones News
By Benjamin Mullin
Amazon.com Inc. said it has agreed to acquire podcast producer
Wondery, the online retail giant's latest move to beef up its audio
offerings.
Amazon didn't disclose the purchase price. The Wall Street
Journal earlier reported that the talks valued Wondery at more than
$300 million.
Founded in 2016, Wondery is one of several audio startups that
blossomed in recent years as podcasting caught on with advertisers
and listeners. Wondery is known for its gritty, narrative-driven
podcasts that apply cinematic sound design to nonfiction
stories.
Amazon said acquiring Wondery -- the maker of true-crime shows
like "Dr. Death," "Dirty John" and "The Shrink Next Door" -- would
allow the company to deepen its podcast offerings.
Wondery podcasts will continue to be available to listeners on a
variety of platforms for free when the deal closes, Amazon said.
Wondery will be joining Amazon Music, the division of the company
that offers listeners music-streaming and podcasts.
Several other podcast startups have been acquired in recent
years as technology, radio and news companies seek new listeners.
Spotify Technology SA recently bought Gimlet Media, the Ringer and
Parcast, expanding its capacity for producing and monetizing
podcasts.
Dow Jones & Co., publisher of the Journal, has a content
partnership with Spotify's Gimlet unit.
Last year, radio company Entercom Communications Corp. purchased
podcasters Pineapple Street Media and Cadence13. And earlier this
year, the New York Times announced the acquisition of Serial
Productions, maker of the hit podcast "Serial."
Wondery Chief Executive Hernan Lopez will be leaving the company
after the deal closes, according to people familiar with the
matter. Jen Sargent, the company's chief operating officer, will
take over management of Wondery upon Mr. Lopez's departure, the
people said.
After the deal closes, Mr. Lopez will focus on the Hernan Lopez
Family Foundation, a new initiative aimed at combating systemic
bias and racism, the people said.
In April, Mr. Lopez was charged with participating in an alleged
scheme to pay millions of dollars in bribes to soccer officials in
exchange for broadcasting rights when he was an executive at Fox
Sports. Mr. Lopez has denied the charges. A lawyer for Mr. Lopez,
Matthew Umhofer, told the Journal earlier this year that the U.S.
indictment "alleges nothing remotely improper."
The subsidiary where Mr. Lopez worked, Fox International
Channels, was absorbed by Walt Disney Co. in 2019. Amazon didn't
comment on the charges against Mr. Lopez. Fox said in a 2017 trial
that it didn't know about or approve any bribes. Fox declined to
comment. Disney didn't immediately respond to a request for
comment.
The Journal's parent News Corp. and Fox Sports parent Fox Corp.
share common ownership.
Wondery's funders include Waverley Capital, Advancit Capital,
Lerer Hippeau and Greycroft. Its last funding round, in June 2019,
valued the company at more than $100 million, the Journal reported.
It is on pace to increase its revenue to more than $40 million this
year.
LionTree LLC advised Wondery on the deal.
Write to Benjamin Mullin at Benjamin.Mullin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 30, 2020 15:52 ET (20:52 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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