Liberated Syndication Closes Acquisition of German Podcast Company Julep Media
Pittsburgh, PA – October 17, 2022 – Liberated Syndication Inc. (“Libsyn” or the “Company”), the leading ”Podcasting As A Service” platform, today announced it has closed the previously announced acquisition of Julep Media GmbH (“Julep”), Germany’s largest independent platform for podcast advertising.
Since its acquisition of AdvertiseCast in June 2021, Libsyn has become the go-to-destination for creators to monetize their podcasts through advertising and for brands looking for exposure to the podcast media market. The addition of Julep to the AdvertiseCast platform now allows Libsyn to enter the fast-growing German market and to expand to neighboring regions. In only three years since its founding, Julep has rapidly grown across the entire German podcast ecosystem, monetizing over 500 podcasts and more than 50,000 episodes, distributing over 45 million downloads per month, and providing advertising solutions to more than 300 brands and agencies. Brad Tirpak, Libsyn’s CEO, said, “Julep provides Libsyn with the immediate scale to become a leading force in podcast monetization in both Germany and the broader European market. Now that the acquisition had closed, we look forward to working with the Julep management team in rapidly expanding our presence throughout Germany and Europe.”
Steffen Hopf, Julep’s CEO, said, “The Julep team couldn’t be more excited than to join forces with Libsyn and to learn from their long history of innovation in the podcast industry. The European podcast market is still in its early stages, so this combination of our two companies comes at the perfect time to accelerate our growth and development.”
Mr. Hopf, who has served as Julep’s CEO since the company’s founding in 2019, will continue in his current position and will assume new responsibilities for Libsyn’s international efforts throughout Europe. The rest of Julep’s management team will also remain in place for at least the next three years.
The combined companies of Libsyn and Julep will now connect over 3,000 creators to over 750 advertisers who are looking to tap into the fast-growing podcast media market. Per the PwC / IAB Podcast Advertising Revenue Report, US podcast advertising revenues are forecasted to exceed $2 billion in 2022 and double to over $4 billion by 2024, with the European market also experiencing strong annual growth of ~24% according to KBV Research.
Wolfson Partners LLC served as Libsyn’s financial advisor and Noerr Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mbB and Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP served as Libsyn’s legal counsel. Crossgate Corporate Finance served as Julep’s financial advisor and BMH Partners and Hughes, Hubbard & Reed LLP served as legal counsel to Julep. BLOMSTEIN Rechtsanwälte provided regulatory services to Julep.
