Cos Cob-headquartered Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment Inc., an operator of advertising-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) streaming services, has acquired Redbox Entertainment Inc., a movies-to-rent service that operates DVD rental kiosks and an online streaming platform.
The companies did not announce the financial aspects of the acquisition, but a Bloomberg analysis valued the all-stock transaction at about $31 million.
Redbox went public last October through a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), but has been burdened with financial difficulties ”“ the company lost $140.8 million in for 2021 and laid off 150 staffers last month.
Redbox shareholders receive 0.087 shares of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment class A common stock per Redbox shares. The shares are worth about $50 million. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment will assume approximately $325 million in Redbox stock.
“Today marks a transformative moment for Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment and an inflection point for the ad-supported streaming industry,” said William J. Rouhana Jr., chairman and CEO of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment. “Our acquisition of Redbox will accelerate the scaling of our business as it combines complementary teams and services to create the streaming industry”™s premier independent AVOD.”
