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EX-99.1 - PRESS RELEASE DATED AUGUST 13, 2020 - Liberated Syndication Inc. | lsyn_ex991.htm |
8-K - CURRENT REPORT - Liberated Syndication Inc. | lsyn_8k.htm |
Exhibit
99.2
For
Immediate Release
Liberated
Syndication Inc. (LSYN)
August
10, 2020
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Liberated Syndication To Focus on Organic Growth Opportunities in
Podcasting
Following Results of Strategic Review
Strengthens Management Team through Executive Appointments and
Promotions
Pittsburgh, PA - - - Liberated Syndication Inc. (OTCQB:LSYN)
(“Libsyn” or the “Company”), the
industry’s leading podcast hosting platform, announced today
the results of its ongoing strategic and operational review, which
commenced in October 2019.
Highlights of Announcement
●
As a result of the
accelerated growth in the podcasting market, the Company believes
it can further expand its leading market position by pursuing
organic growth opportunities that will enhance shareholder
value.
●
In addition, the
Company has appointed merchant bank West Arrow as a strategic
advisor to assist in evaluating growth opportunities and potential
M&A.
●
The Company’s
cash and cash equivalents were $19.4 million as of June 30,
2020.
●
The Company will
actively seek to expand its leadership team as it aims to build on
its position as the “podcast company for podcast
creators” and has recently made the following changes to its
leadership team:
o
Current President,
Laurie Sims, has assumed an additional role of Chief Operating
Officer;
o
Richard Heyse, an
experienced public company executive, has been appointed Chief
Financial Officer;
o
Current Board
Member, Bradley Tirpak, has been appointed Chairman of the Board;
and
o
The Company will
begin a global search for a new Chief Executive
Officer
●
Subsequent to
quarter end, the Company repurchased and retired 1,353,795 shares
in a privately negotiated transaction.
Outcome of Strategic Review
The
Company’s Strategic Review Committee, in collaboration with
the management team and the Board of Directors, has undertaken a
strategic review of the business, including an evaluation of the
Company’s competitive positioning current market conditions.
The Company has concluded that pursuing organic growth and offering
new and improved services to podcasters have the best potential to
simultaneously improve the financial results of the Company and
accelerate growth in the marketplace
Libsyn
is one of the most established businesses in the podcast industry
with a focus on podcasters and providing the tools necessary to
help podcasters improve listener engagement. Libsyn was the first
company to offer storage, bandwidth, RSS creation tools, and
distribution in a single platform. In 2019, Libsyn delivered over
6.2 billion unique podcast downloads. Today, the Company is one of
the largest paid host platforms with over 70,000
podcasts.
The
Company is well-positioned to benefit from the tremendous growth
and momentum the industry is experiencing. The number of active
podcasts globally grew by an estimated 25% year-over-year in
2019.1 Monthly podcast listenership more than
doubled from 2014 to 2019, rising from an estimated 15% of the U.S.
population to 32%.2 Notably, ad spending on podcasts grew
48% year-over-year in 2019 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 23%
through 2022, with several industry analysts estimating over a
billion-dollar advertising market for podcasting by 2021, a large
addressable market that has only recently emerged.3
The Company believes the acceleration of advertising spending is
important for the future health and growth of the podcast market
and is actively developing mechanisms to include enhanced
advertising offerings within the Libsyn platform that will create
value for customers.
1 Bank of America Merrill
Lynch, September 2019.
2 Bank of America Merrill
Lynch, September 2019.
3 eMarketer, August
2020.
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Over
the next several months, the Company will begin the rollout of
Libsyn 5, which will offer improved services to podcasters. In
addition, Libsyn will increase investment in automation tools to
expand podcast advertising services and launch new marketing
initiatives to entice new users to experience the Libsyn platform.
Finally, the Company will continue to engage with other industry
participants as attractive opportunities for potential partnerships
emerge. Each initiative at the Company will be focused on
generating value for customers and employees and generating high
returns on invested capital for shareholders.
Strengthened Management Team
Libsyn’s
Chairman, Mr. Bradley Tirpak, noted, “We are continuing to
leverage a strong existing leadership team at Libsyn, along with
expanding our current capabilities. To that end, we are delighted
to promote Laurie to the additional role of Chief Operating
Officer. She has been an exceptional leader at Libsyn, is
well-respected across the podcasting industry, and will be
instrumental in further building out our executive team. The
Company has also strengthened its finance team through the recent
appointment of Richard as Chief Financial
Officer.”
About Liberated Syndication
Liberated Syndication Inc. (“Libsyn”) is a world
leading podcast hosting network and has been providing publishers
with distribution and monetization services since 2004. In 2019,
Libsyn delivered over 6.2 billion downloads. Libsyn hosts over 5.8
million media files from more than 70,000 podcasts. Podcast
producers choose Libsyn to measure their audience via IAB V2
certified stats, deliver popular audio and video episodes,
distribute their content through smartphone Apps (iOS and Android),
and monetize via premium subscription services and advertising. The
Company also owns Pair Networks, founded in 1996, one of the oldest
and most experienced Internet hosting companies, providing a full
range of fast, powerful and reliable Web hosting
services.
Libsyn is a Pittsburgh-based company with a world class
team.
Visit Libsyn on the web at
www.libsyn.com and
visit Pair Networks at
www.pair.com.
Investors can visit the Company at the “Investor
Relations” section of Libsyn’s website at
https://investor.libsyn.com.
Forward-Looking Statement
“Forward-looking
Statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995 may be included in some of the information or
materials made available on this website. These statements relate
to future events or our future financial performance.
These
statements are only predictions and may differ materially from
actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or
obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a
result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except
as required by law. There are important risk factors that could
cause actual results to differ from those contained in
forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, risks
associated with our change in business strategy towards more heavy
reliance upon on our new talent segment and wholesale channels,
actions of regulators concerning our business operations or trading
markets for our securities, the extent to which we are able to
develop new services and markets for our services, our significant
reliance on third parties to distribute our content, the level of
demand and market acceptance of our services and the "Risk Factors"
set forth in our most recent filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
Contact:
Laurie
Sims, President and Chief Operating Officer
Liberated
Syndication
investor@libsyn.com
Adam
Prior, SVP
The
Equity Group Inc.
(212)
836-9606
aprior@equityny.com