Deezer takes on Spotify, Apple in IPO

The company, whose largest shareholders also include Leonard Blavatnik’s Access Industries, is smaller than Swedish rival Spotify, which has more than 20 million paying subscribers and was said to be valued at $8.5 billion in its most recent financing round.

The initial public offering would value the French company at €900 million to €1.1 billion after it sells 8.2 million new shares at €36.40 to €49.24 apiece, it said Thursday. An over-allotment option to increase the number of shares sold by 15 percent could bring additional gross proceeds of 45 million. “The introduction in the stock market will enable us to accelerate our growth and continue to play a major role in the vanguard of the musical revolution which streaming offers”, he said in a statement. It finally entered the United States in late 2014, partnering with Sonos and Bose, and is now available in more than 180 countries.

“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 CEO Hans-Holger Albrecht said. “It will also give the company greater visibility”, he said, adding that the French start-up would be “the first of its sector” to test the appetite of market investors for music streaming. “We’re used to tough competition”.

According to research recently carried out in the USA and the United Kingdom, only 6 percent of people listen to music streaming services at home, with over 50 percent still listening to music on the radio, while 42 percent still listen to CDs.

Trading of Deezer’s shares on Euronext in Paris is expected to start on 30 October.

Deezer has a track record of teaming up with phone companies to sell its premium subscriptions coupled with mobile-phone packages.

Deezer will make its shares available to investors in France and overseas through a domestic subscription, which will close on 26 October, and an worldwide one, which is scheduled for the day after.