KIIS FM owner pockets $66 million from messaging stake sale

The owner of KIIS FM and Gold FM has sold its 25 per cent stake in mobile messaging software business Soprano Design, beefing up its coffers as it strives to become the leading audio provider in the country.

Here, There & Everywhere (HT&E), which also owns WS FM and CADA FM, will receive $66.3 million in cash from the sale of its stake in Soprano to private equity firm Potentia Capital. HT&E chief executive Ciaran Davis said the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, gives the company financial flexibility as it heads into the new calendar year.

“We’ve got a fantastic balance sheet to be able to invest smartly,” Davis said.

HT&E, which has been a shareholder in Soprano for more than two decades, had tried to sell the business before. In May 2021, Norwegian-owned Link Mobility offered the company a $560 million cash and scrip deal, but it fell over after due diligence. Under that arrangement, HT&E would’ve received $139m for its 25 per cent stake.

“It was a different time in terms of the market itself, but it was 95 per cent scrip,” Davis said. “If you look at the share price [of Link Mobility] at the moment … we saved a lot of value for shareholders by walking away.”

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Soprano’s founder and chief executive, Dr Richard Favero, said he was confident the new owners would support the company’s product expansion. “Potentia has significant experience with enterprise software companies and I look forward to working with the Potentia team on accelerating growth,” he said.

The sale of the Soprano stake is the latest move of a broader simplification strategy at HT&E, underway since it sold its billboard advertising business, Adshel, in 2018.

Over the past four years, HT&E has divested from a range of assets, including the publication The Roar, and focused solely on investments in radio and digital audio such as podcasting.