US: Spotify buys Parcast for US$56M

Spotify has confirmed that it paid €50 million (US$56 million) to acquire Parcast, the story-based podcasting studio it snapped up last month.

Founded in 2016, Los Angeles-based Parcast has two production studios, through which it has created more than a dozen popular podcast shows, including Serial Killers, Female Criminals, and Mind’s Eye.

Some estimates had pegged the Parcast purchase price at around US$100 million, though the confirmed value is notably less. But Parcast represented Spotify’s third podcast-related acquisition in less than two months, after the latter bought Gimlet Media and Anchor in February. An Securities and Exchange Commission filing at the time revealed that Spotify intended to pay around €300 million (US$335.5 million) for Gimlet and Anchor, although the music-streaming giant has now confirmed that the final figure is €308 million (US$344 million).

In all, Spotify has spent €358 million (US$400 million) to acquire three podcast startups in 2019 so far. In its Q4 shareholder letter back in February, the company stated it had earmarked up to US$500 million for similar deals throughout 2019, so we can perhaps expect more from Spotify on the acquisition front in the coming months.