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.
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