Vinyl Group has entered into and completed an agreement to acquire the assets of London-based Serenade (“the Business”), a Web3 pioneer of physical and digital collectibles, through a Business Deed Sale, which includes 100% of the shares of the Business’ UK subsidiary.
Serenade’s digital marketplace has served 200+ global artists including Liam and Noel Gallagher, Muse, Sum 41, Twenty One Pilots and Thirty Seconds to Mars while sales of their NFC-enabled Smart Formats have grown 56% MoM since launching in January 2024, with a total of 12,000 units sold in H1 2024.
Serenade has commercial partnerships with 100+ record labels including Warner Music Group, Beggars Group, Concord, Glassnote, FUGA and PIAS. It will operate alongside the Vinyl.com brand with the goal of improving the gross margins of its fastest-growing division.
Serenade has also been in active discussions to expand its offering beyond music to sport and other entertainment verticals.
Vinyl Group has acquired 100% of the assets of Serenade (excluding their R&D receivable) in exchange for $800,000 in shares, valued at the fifteen (15) day Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) of Vinyl Group shares on the ASX for the period immediately preceding the Completion Date which is $0.09739, for a total of 8,214,274 ordinary shares. These shares will be subject to a twelve (12) month escrow from the date of issue.
As part of the deal, key Serenade employees have joined Vinyl Group. Serenade CEO Max Shand has entered into a full-time employment agreement with Vinyl Group, to both lead Serenade to achieve its performance goals while also helping to rapidly accelerate the Vinyl.com business, expanding its product offerings into physical and digital collectables whilst launching into additional markets.
Vinyl Group CEO, Josh Simons, said: “Max Shand has built Serenade into a business with significant potential, and through our acquisition of the platform, we’ll put the resources into Serenade to allow it to reach that potential. Vinyl Group is, at its core, a tech business and this was a great opportunity to expand our tech offering. We look forward to welcoming Max and other key members of the Serenade team to Vinyl Group.”
Shand, said: “I’m thrilled to announce the acquisition of Serenade by Vinyl Group, Australia’s only ASX-listed music company. From our very first conversation, it was clear that Josh, Jorge, and the Board shared our vision for supporting artists and audiences through outstanding music products, and so I’m excited to see how this partnership accelerates our impact. I also want to acknowledge the incredible Serenade team, whose passion, integrity, talent, and dedication made this all possible.”