Deezer registers for IPO on Euronext Paris

Streaming music service Deezer has registered with the French financial markets authority (AMF) to launch an IPO on Euronext Paris. At this early stage, the company did not indicate how many shares it plans to issue or at what price. CEO Hans-Holger Albrecht said of the move, "Our contemplated IPO represents a key step in the continued development of our business. It will help us expand our offering through innovative marketing campaigns, drive deeper distribution through our telecom and manufacturer partnerships, and further improve our product and content to deliver an even better service for our listeners." Deezer offers a catalogue of over 35 million tracks and 40,000 news and entertainment talk shows and podcasts in over 180 countries worldwide. 

Separately, Les Echos writes that Deezer has yet to turn a profit, in large part because of its large investments internationally. The company is expected to record over EUR 200 million of revenue this year, after 53 percent growth to EUR 142 million in 2014. It aims to reach EUR 750 million in 2018. Over half of its sales come from France. It has reduced its EBITDA loss from EUR 38 million in 2013 to EUR 22 million in 2014 and EUR 12 million in the first half of this year. 

The streaming service has 6.3 million subscribers, including 1.5 direct subscribers under the Deezer brand and 4.8 million through telecom operators such as Orange France, Vodafone Germany and TIM Brazil. 

Deezer’s biggest shareholders are Lev Blavatnik’s investment fund Access Industries with 26 percent, Sony Music, Warner and Universal Music with 20 percent combined, Orange with 10 percent, Deezer’s founders with 10 percent, the IDInvest fund with 10 percent, and Free founder Xavier Niel with a few percent remaining from his early investment.