Media group Bertelsmann and entertainment producer Walt Disney are set to exit US-based podcast publishing studio Wondery after it agreed to be acquired by e-commerce and technology group Amazon.
The deal is sized at about $300m, person a briefed on the matter told the New York Times. Wondery will join Amazon’s on-demand audio content streaming subsidiary, Amazon Music, once the deal closes.
Founded in 2016, Wondery runs a US-focused podcast production studio that commissions audio fiction and documentaries across a variety of genres for distribution through its podcasting app and third-party affiliates.
Amazon Music will maintain Wondery’s presence on content marketplaces other than its own but hopes to secure synergies to attract more listeners to its own podcasting facility, which launched in September 2020.
Wondery closed a $10m series B round Waverley Capital that also featured BDMI, the corporate venturing arm of Bertelsmann previously called Bertelsmann Digital Media investments, as well as Lerer Hippeau, Greycroft, Powerhouse Ventures, Advancit Capital and Water Tower Ventures in mid-2019.
Greycroft, Lerer Hippeau and Advancit Capital had previously co-led a $5m series A round for the company in 2018 backed by BDMI and Fox Networks Group, the television broadcasting unit since acquired by Disney, in addition to Water Tower Ventures, Bam Ventures and assorted angels.