InternetQ Raises c. €17m for Akazoo, its Music Streaming Service

InternetQ Raises c. EUR17m for Akazoo, its Music Streaming Service

LONDON, July 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --



InternetQ plc (LSE-AIM: INTQ), a leading provider of mobile marketing and digital
entertainment solutions for mobile network operators and brands, is pleased to announce a
strategic investment into the Company's popular subscription-based music streaming service,
Akazoo, by a consortium led by Toscafund Asset Management LLP ("Toscafund") and Penta
Capital LLP ("Penta Capital").



Tosca Penta Music LP ("Tosca Penta Music"), a special purpose investment vehicle
backed by Toscafund and managed by Penta Capital, is investing c. EUR17 million (GBP12
million) in cash into the UK registered entity that will hold the Akazoo business,
operations and platform. Concurrently, the shareholders of R&R Music Ltd ("R&R Music"),
the London-based IP/patent-powered music recommendation and user profiling technology
company, have agreed to contribute their business to the new Akazoo group. The cash
investment will be used to grow Akazoo's operations and footprint and expand the new
entity's proposition across new verticals through continued development of the Akazoo
platform and R&R Music's technologies.



Based on the subscription terms of the new investment, the implied post-money
valuation of the enlarged Akazoo business (including R&R Music) at announcement is
approximately EUR104 million, with InternetQ holding c. 69.1% of the shares, while Tosca
Penta Music and R&R Music's founders and existing investors hold the remaining shares. The
enlarged business, headquartered in London, UK, will be effectively debt-free at the
outset and will have a dedicated board of directors.



Iain Barrie Johnston, Non-Executive Director of InternetQ, and Panagiotis
Dimitropoulos, CEO and Founder of InternetQ, will be appointed Chairman and member of the
new board of directors respectively.



Apostolos N. Zervos, currently SVP of Akazoo at InternetQ, will be appointed Chief
Executive Officer of the enlarged business and David Ritchie, currently CEO of R&R Music,
will become Chief Strategy Officer.



Strategic Rationale  



In light of the increasing demand for content streaming and related services globally,
and recent successes of Akazoo in penetrating blue chip customers and large, attractive
geographies, this transaction is particularly timely for InternetQ. It provides
significant new cash resources, IP, human capital, operational and technological synergies
and other related assets to further build on the strong momentum of InternetQ's B2C
services as a differentiated and broad offering that is attracting a significant
subscriber base globally. Similarly, the structural separation of Akazoo aims to improve
focus on InternetQ's respective business lines, while maintaining control of both.



Panagiotis Dimitropoulos, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of InternetQ commented:
 



"We are delighted to announce this landmark transaction for our digital entertainment
business and our Akazoo brand. We welcome Toscafund and Penta Capital as business
partners. We look forward to working together with the founders and employees of R&R Music
to drive synergies and grow the enlarged business. Our music and digital entertainment
business now has additional ammunition to continue to innovate and serve real customer
needs and desires across the globe, and play an important role in enriching products and
offers for unserved verticals and geographies."  



Eric Nicoli CBE, Chairman of R&R Music, commented:  



"We're hugely excited to combine forces with the excellent Akazoo team to create an
entity which, when underpinned by the support of InternetQ and new funding from Tosca
Penta Music, will have the expertise, technology and propositions to become an
increasingly important international player in the digital music, social media and data
space."  



Martin Hughes, CEO and founder of Toscafund, commented:  



"It is always pleasing to meet and work with like-minded entrepreneurs that judge
success over a period of years. Having supported the development and growth of R&R Music
and its predecessor since 2007, it is a pleasure to move to the next phase of growth in
combination with Akazoo and the excellent management teams of both businesses."  



R&R Music was founded in London by David Ritchie and Eric Nicoli. R&R Music works with
all forms of content, but primarily focuses on music. It combines patented algorithms,
behavioural science, expertise with social media, and human curation to create a highly
innovative profiling and recommendation engine and boasts a range of unique and compelling
products and services for music fans, artists, businesses and brands.



Penta Capital is a UK mid-market private equity investor. It currently manages over
GBP300 million of commitments from its funder groups. It has successfully invested in a
number of technology businesses in recent years, including the recently announced exit of
Six Degrees Group.



Toscafund, founded in 2000 and based in London, is a multi-asset manager of
institutional, private family and retail funds. Total funds under management are presently
$4bn.



Panagiotis Dimitropoulos, Chief Executive Officer, Veronica Nocetti, Chief Financial
Officer, Apostolos Zervos, the soon to be appointed Chief Executive Officer of the new
enlarged Akazoo business, and Eric Nicoli, Chairman of R&R Music will host a conference
call for analysts and investors to discuss the announcement commencing at 8.30 am BST on
Thursday 09 July 2015.  



Dial in details are as follows:



Conference ID: 82005708



Participant FreeCall UK: 0800 073 1340



Participant Std International: +44 (0) 1452 569 393



Participant USA FreeCall: 1866 434 1089



An audio webcast will also be available with the URL link below:
http://wcc.webeventservices.com/r.htm?e=1022435&s=1&k=F9DB5CABA6D0A93601BDCC09E2187756



About InternetQ plc:  



InternetQ is a leading digital content and mobile marketing services company with
operations spanning Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas. It offers proprietary
technology platforms to help mobile network operators, brands, and media companies to
conduct targeted, interactive and measurable marketing initiatives on mobile devices. Its
mobile value added services include Akazoo, which allows consumers to purchase digital
music content and Minimob, its smart mobile marketing and advertising platform to conduct
effective and measurable campaigns on mobile phones and achieve user engagement and app
monetization. All of InternetQ's products are underpinned by the rapid global growth in
smart devices and the thriving app economy.



InternetQ is a publicly traded company listed on the AIM market of the London Stock
Exchange, under the symbol INTQ. For investor related queries, please email:
ir@internetq.com




 
For further details: 
InternetQ T: +44(0)20-3519-5250 / +30-211-101-1101 
Panagiotis Dimitropoulos, CEO and Founder T: +30-697-811-7520 
Veronica Nocetti, Chief Financial Officer T: +30-694-420-5275

 
 
FTI Consulting LLP 
Charles Palmer / Chris Lane / Nicola Krafft / Karen Tang T: +44(0)20-3727-1000

 
 
RBC Capital Markets 
Pierre Schreuder / Ema Jakasovic T: +44(0)20-7653-4000

 
 
Canaccord Genuity 
Simon Bridges / Emma Gabriel T: +44(0)20-7523-8000 


 



InternetQ plc


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Profile: intent