- Spotify reportedly spent $250 million to acquire The Ringer, an online publication for sports and pop culture, Bloomberg reported.
- The purchase, which Spotify confirmed last week, is the streaming platform's latest move to grow its presence in podcasting, and follows recent purchases of Gimlet Media, Anchor, and Parcast.
- The Ringer, which has more than 40 podcast titles, was founded in 2016 by ESPN sports journalist Bill Simmons.
- Simmons' exact ownership stake in The Ringer isn't known, but the deal is expected to be a huge payday for the media founder.
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Sports media founder Bill Simmons scored a massive payout from Spotify, who purchased Simmons' publication The Ringer for a reported $250 million.
Citing a source with knowledge of the deal, Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw reported Tuesday that the deal saw Spotify pay $250 million to acquire The Ringer, an online publication for sports and pop culture. Spotify confirmed the acquisition last week after The Wall Street Journal reported on purchase rumors in January, but the deal price was not known.
This is Spotify's latest move into the podcasting space in the past year, following nearly $400 millionin recent acquisitions of podcast networks Gimlet Media, Parcast, and Anchor. The Ringer has nearly 40 podcast titles under its belt, including a number of popular sports shows featuring Simmons that Spotify will now own.
Bloomberg reports Spotify is initially paying $200 million to acquire the company, with another $50 million to be paid later. It's not clear if there are any terms attached to the $50 million payout.
Spotify did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
The $250 million acquisition likely represents a huge payday for Simmons, specifically, who is the company's largest shareholder, though his exact stake isn't known. The entertainment company HBO also owns a 10% stake in The Ringer.
Simmons, a former ESPN journalist, founded The Ringer in 2016. As part of the acquisition, Simmons — as well as The Ringer's estimated 90 employees — will have jobs at Spotify. According to Bloomberg, the deal includes protections for Ringer employees to ensure much of the staff isn't cut, and a provision requiring Simmons to stay at the company for an unknown period of time.
Spotify has only started investing in podcasting recently, although the streaming service was founded in 2006. In a recent blog post, Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek said he had no idea at the beginning that "audio — not just music — would be the future of Spotify."
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