Audio Network Announces Significant Minority Investment by Stripes Group

Audio Network Announces Significant Minority Investment by Stripes Group

LONDON, July 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --



Investment and partnership to enable accelerated growth in music production,


global expansion, distribution and rapid technology innovation



Audio Network (the "Company"), the international music company specialising in music
for film, television and video, is pleased to announce that Stripes Group, a leading New
York-based technology and consumer-focused growth equity firm, has acquired a significant
minority shareholding in the Company.



(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120917/562536 )




(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130726/630318 )




Stripes Group acquired an approximate 27% equity stake in the Company with the
majority of its stake purchased from early angel investors. Audio Network's Founders,
Composer Founders and Management Team will maintain more than 80% of their original
holdings post the completion of the transaction.



The investment signals the Company's vision and ambition to accelerate the growth of
its core business by more rapidly expanding its originally produced and owned music
catalogue and by the entry into new international markets.



With this transaction, the Company will further innovate and differentiate their
technology platform, enhancing their clients' ability easily to search, discover and use
Audio Network's extensive library globally.



With over 1 billion people consuming videos online from millions of producers
annually*, the Company sees technology innovation as a key driver to unlocking vast new
distribution opportunities for their music.



Andrew Sunnucks, Audio Network Chairman and Co-Founder, said, "We welcome Stripes to
the team. It's crucial that we remain a creatively driven business which focuses on
providing a valuable service to our customers around the world. As the international audio
visual market explodes there is ever more demand for great music and we want to remain at
the forefront of a rapidly expanding global opportunity."



Robert Hurst, Audio Network CEO and Co-Founder, added, "We are particularly delighted
that so many of our founding composer and employee shareholders have elected to keep 100%
of their shares in the company. The transaction will bring with it many opportunities for
the Company's shareholders, staff and composers - the future looks incredibly exciting!"



Dan Marriott, Managing Partner at Stripes Group, said, "We are thrilled to be
partnered with Andrew and Robert and the entire Audio Network family. They have built an
exceptional value proposition brick by brick for all of their constituents and a rapidly
growing profitable company at the same time - a rare combination. One of the most special
parts of the story is their culture - customer-centric, and full of creative energy and
integrity. The time is right to invest in technology, distribution and music to accelerate
their growth and we look forward to lending a hand to the Audio Network team on the road
ahead."



*http://informitv.com/news/2013/05/29/ciscoforecastsmassive



About Audio Network:



With a catalogue of well over 64,000 original music tracks, Audio Network offers a
complete music solution by cutting through the traditionally complex and costly processes
of licensing music. All high quality tracks are pre-cleared for multiple formats, for the
world, forever through their website at http://www.audionetwork.com



This approach allows producers to make content for international distribution,
emerging platforms and new media without the need to go through the complicated and
expensive process of clearing individual tracks or re-versioning productions. The company
supplies music to some major international media clients, including BBC, HBO, MSN, MTV
Networks, National Geographic, Ogilvy, and Endemol.



Audio Network owns the rights to their extensive catalogue which covers a full range
of music styles from large-scale orchestral to hip hop and from country to rock. This
high-quality music is created by its team of established international composers and
recorded by major orchestras and artistes including The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Dame
Evelyn Glennie OBE and the late Sir John Dankworth CBE.



In addition to supplying original scoring, audio branding, sound design services and
working as creative partners alongside over 400 renowned composers, Audio Network now has
interests and operations in multiple territories, worldwide.



Listed as one of the UK's fastest growing companies in the Sunday Times Tech Track 100
in both 2011 and 2012; and the Sunday Times Profit Track 100 in 2013, Audio Network has
also received the Queen's Award for Enterprise: Innovation (Technology) in 2008 and again
in 2012 for International Trade. The company has grown its composer team, music catalogue
and revenue from its music services every year since its incorporation in 2001 and despite
continued reinvestment each year in future growth has grown its profit every year since
2006 when the company first achieved profitability.



About Stripes Group:



Stripes Group is a leading growth equity firm that makes minority and majority equity
investments in B2B/B2C Internet, Digital Media, SaaS, Software, Healthcare IT, and Branded
Consumer Products businesses. The firm seeks to partner with founder driven, profitable,
market-leading companies with proven business models that are generating exceptional
growth. For more information on Stripes Group, please visit
http://www.stripesgroup.com






Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120917/562536



http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130726/630318


Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120917/562536
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130726/630318
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Audio Network

CONTACT: Simon Marett, Director of Marketing, 54 St John's Square, London, EC1V 4JL; Tel: +44(0)20-7566-1441, Tel: +44(0)7881-810782, s.marett@audionetwork.com


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