International podcast investment company PodX has announced its acquisition of audio production company Listen in the UK, with the Swedish firm purchasing a majority stake in the business.
This is the second investment for PodX into the UK, following its acquisition of fiction podcasts and audio production company Goldhawk in October 2022. According to the company, this deal marks “the most significant acquisition in the UK industry since Sony’s purchase of Somethin’ Else in June 2021”.
“We are building a group of world class companies, and we are thrilled to be acquiring the most significant production company in the UK,” said PodX Group CEO and board member Staffan Rosell. “Listen is a truly impressive business - highly-respected, with a market-leading position, inspirational leadership with ambitious plans for the future… This is a landmark acquisition for us in the UK in building a strong presence in the British podcast market.”
Listen launched in September 2019 with a goal to become a leader in radio and podcast production, and has since grown the podcast business by more than 250% with consistent increases in turnover year on year.
The podcast agency has produced a number of premium shows including its first original video podcast, UNBOXED with Jordan Schwarzenberger, and a number of others in partnership with other companies, such as ITV’s Love Island: The Morning After and Audible Original French & Saunders: Titting About.
This deal will enable Listen to accelerate its growth as a company and increase its global audience reach. Rosell also added that PodX will not only help the company not only superserve its current commissioners and attract new clients, but also invest in creating more IP together, both domestically and globally.
“The beating heart of Listen is our obsession with producing premium content and a desire to move at pace and stay ahead of change,” said Listen managing director Josh Adley. “We know there is a huge opportunity for us internationally and this is precisely what PodX can support us with.”
“This is an incredibly exciting moment for Listen and its clients,” said Listen’s director of content Darby Dorras. “Our content and plans remain as ambitious and premium as ever – but we’re now supercharged and even more global than before.”
Although PodX now owns a majority share in Listen, the company will continue to be run by Adley, Dorras, and executive director Tim Hammond, and continue to operate from the same offices in the UK.
Rosell added that PodX will continue to invest in “more world class businesses, producers, and IP” with its primary focus in the European and Latin American markets. Previous acquisitions include podcast company Suomen Podcastmedia in Finland, independent podcast production studio Filt in Sweden, podcast production company Posta in Argentina, and podcast studio Nouvelles Écoutes in France.
