Triton

Scripps to Acquire Triton

~ jen

The E.W. Scripps Company is acquiring Triton, the global leader in digital audio technology and measurement services, helping Scripps advance its strategies for near- and long-term value creation.

Triton serves the growing digital audio marketplace through a software-as-a-service (Saas) business-to-business revenue model. Triton powers or measures streaming music and podcasting for many of the biggest names in audio, including Pandora, Spotify, NPR, iHeart, Entercom, Cumulus, Prisa (Spain), Mediacorp (Singapore) and Karnaval (Turkey).

Triton’s infrastructure and ad-serving solutions deliver live and on-demand audio streams and insert advertisements into those streams. Triton’s data and measurement service is recognized as the currency by which publishers sell digital audio advertising.

Financial highlights include:

  • The purchase price is $150 million.
  • The transaction will be financed with cash on hand.
  • Triton will immediately be accretive to company margins.
  • Triton’s 2018 revenue is projected to be approximately $40 million, with EBITDA projected in the mid-teen millions.
  • Triton’s 2019 revenue is projected to grow in the low or mid-teens percent range over 2018.
  • The revenue multiple for the transaction is about 3.7x; the EBITDA multiple is about 9x.
  • This is a stock acquisition, and therefore there is no step-up in the assets for tax purposes.

Audioboom Buys Triton for $185 Million

~ jen

In case you missed it, Audioboom bought Triton Digital in February of 2018 for $185 million dollars. This was done as a reverse takeover – which is defined as a takeover of a public company by a smaller company. InsideRadio described this situation as “a major shakeup in the digital audio industry.”

Audioboom is a podcasting platform. They have a team to help podcasters make the most of their content. Audioboom builds tools to host, monetize, and distribute a podcaster’s show. Triton Digital is the global technology and services leader to the digital audio and podcast industry.

InsideRadio reported on February 13, 2018, that Audioboom was buying Triton Digital in a reverse takeover. Under the proposed deal, Audioboom will buy the share capital of Triton Digital’s parent company, Triton Digital Canada, Inc., for $185 million. The combined company will be renamed Triton Digital Group.

Triton CEO Neal Schore will be named president and CEO of the combined company, while Audioboom CEO Robert Proctor is named executive director. Triton CEO Mark Rosenbaum will become executive VP and CFO.

The purchase is subject to shareholder approval. It is also contingent upon Audioboom raising around $215 million in new shares to fund the deal, and on executing a share purchase agreement. I assume that if the deal falls apart, we will likely see news of that somewhere online.