France-based music streaming service Deezer secured €160m ($185m) in funding yesterday from investors including diversified conglomerate Access Industries, telecommunications firm Orange and entertainment producer Rotana Group.
Diversified holding company Kingdom Holding also contributed to the round, which valued Deezer at $1.16bn, as did private equity firm LBO France.
Founded in 2007, Deezer runs a music streaming service with 14 million users and a catalogue of more than 53 million songs. It offers a range of subscription packages including a free, advertising-supported plan and a premium lossless audio option.
The funding will be used for international expansion as Deezer looks to strengthen its position in certain existing markets. It has also signed an agreement with Rotana to distribute the latter’s music catalogue in the Middle East and North Africa.
Deezer had secured more than $150m in funding from investors including Access and Orange as of September 2015 when it filed for an initial public offering intended to raise $343m. It withdrew the plans shortly afterwards.
The company subsequently raised $110m in a 2016 round led by Access Industries, with participation from Orange. Deezer’s other investors include private equity firm DC Music, Idinvest Partners and CM-CIC Capital Privé.
In addition to Deezer’s financial backers, media company ProSiebenSat.1 and record labels Universal, Warner Music, Sony and EMI all have agreements in place to obtain equity in Deezer should it go public.