All that jazz: Stingray Digital picks up Netherlands music channel operator
Posted July 23, 2015 12:08 pm.
Last Updated July 23, 2015 1:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
MONTREAL – Music services company Stingray Digital Group (TSX:RAY.A) announced its first acquisition as a public company on Thursday, buying Brava Group, an operator of three niche music channels based in the Netherlands.
Stingray will become owner of the Brava NL and Brava HD channels, which are dedicated to opera, ballet and classical music, as well as DJAZZ.tv, a blues, soul and gospel channel.
The transaction includes an initial payment of $8 million and additional payments of up to $3 million based on performance.
The company says together, the commercial-free TV channels have about 35 million subscribers in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean.
Stingray, which pipes mood-setting music into retail stores like Aldo, Canadian Tire and McDonald’s across the globe, has been looking to expand its presence since raising about $140 million through an initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange in June.
The Montreal-based company also curates playlists for Stingray Music, a collection of Canadian cable TV channels formerly known as Galaxie Music before the company bought them from CBC/Radio-Canada.
Stingray distributes music and video in 111 countries to pay-TV subscribers and businesses, and the acquisition of Brava Group will expand the company into another 23 countries, it said.
“These acquisitions mark an important advance in our expansion strategy and accelerate our growth,” said Stingray president and CEO Eric Boyko.
“We will leverage these three channels to strengthen our relationships with pay TV operators and their subscribers worldwide.”
