Formula One podcaster Audioboom revs up talks about sale

The London-listed media company which produces Formula One motor racing’s official podcast series is exploring a sale following a fresh set of approaches from potential buyers.

Sky News has learnt that Audioboom Group is working with advisers to explore the terms of a potential takeover of the company. J Goodwin & Co, a firm founded by prominent media industry banker Jonathan Goodwin, is understood to be overseeing talks with prospective buyers.

Audioboom has a market capitalisation of close to £100m, after a 157% surge in its valuation over the last 12 months. Media analysts cited the likes of Fox Corporation and iHeartMedia as potential bidders for Audioboom, although it was unclear on Friday whether any formal talks were yet taking place with them or other third parties.

Any deal would probably need to be pitched at a significant premium to the current share price to secure a recommendation from Audioboom's board. Audioboom produces podcasts including the official Formula 1 titles F1: Beyond the Grid and F1 Nation, True Crime Obsessed and No Such Thing As A Fish.

The company says its shows are downloaded 135 million times each month by more than 40 million listeners around the world. It is ranked as the fifth-largest podcast publisher in the US by Edison Research.

Read more from Sky News:Customer details stolen in Renault cyber attackJapan could run out of AsahiTinned tuna-owner to unveil £1.5bn float Audioboom-produced content is distributed through the likes of Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Spotify. It recently announced the appointment of Craig Eastwood, a former executive at British podcast network Adelicious, to spearhead an international expansion that the company said would be "pivotal to Audioboom's long-term growth strategy".

The exploration of a sale is not the first time that Audioboom has engaged in such a process. In 2020, it worked with the merchant bank The Raine Group to hold talks with suitors but eventually called off the process.

On Friday afternoon, shares in Audioboom were trading at 547.5p, up about 1.4% on the day. Audioboom could not be reached for comment..