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Audioboom announced the acquisition of UK podcast firm Adelicious as it swung into profit at the half-year stage. The Jersey-based podcast publisher said the £10 million deal will be immediately earnings enhancing and create the second biggest podcast network in the UK. The news came alongside results which showed Audioboom report a pretax profit of $1.3 million in the six months to June 30, swung from a loss of £1.3 million a year prior. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation ballooned to $1.8 million from $0.3 million, with revenue up a more modest 2.9% to $35.1 million from $34.1 million. Audioboom highlighted the significant growth of Showcase, its higher gross margin, tech-based global advertising marketplace, with first-half revenue of $11.6 million, up 24% from $9.3 million a year ago. Revenue per 1,000 downloads fell to $60.26 from $61.48 but the brand advertiser count of 13,262, was up 65% year-on-year. Audioboom said it has in excess of $70 million revenue booked for 2025 - more than $5 million added since the April 2025 trading update and $5 million more than at the same point last year. In addition, the company announced the acquisition of Adelicious Ltd for up to £10 million. The acquisition adds around 20 million monthly downloads and views to the platform and creates the second biggest podcast network in the UK, to complement Audioboom’s leadership position in the US, the firm said. Audioboom Chief Executive Stuart Last said: ‘With strong momentum in our operational performance, it is perfect timing to increase our UK presence with the acquisition of Adelicious. They have emerged as a leader in the UK podcast market and are home to some of the best UK podcasts.’ The combination of Audioboom and Adelicious positions Audioboom to capture ‘significant share of the UK market’s untapped value.’ Audioboom said the acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to underlying earnings. Audioboom will pay £4.5 million initial consideration, to be settled 60% in cash and 40% in new shares, up to £3.0 million of deferred consideration, subject to a revenue performance condition for 2025 and up to £2.5 million of contingent consideration, subject to revenue performance of the SMA contract. The deferred consideration and the contingent consideration will be settled 40% in cash, 40% in new Audioboom shares, with the remaining 20% capable of being settled in cash or new shares. To help fund the cash element of the deal, Audioboom raised £3.0 million via a ‘significantly oversubscribed’ placing of 1.1 million shares at 270 pence per share with new and existing institutional and other investors. Shares in Audioboom closed up 3.2% at 290.00 pence each in London on Wednesday. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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