Redbox To Be Acquired By Crackle Parent Chicken Soup For The Soul Entertainment In All-Stock Deal Focused On Value End Of Streaming Market

deadline.com:

In a streaming deal struck with an eye toward the current high-inflation economic environment facing consumers, Crackle parent Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is acquiring Redbox.Founded in the heyday of DVDs two decades ago, Redbox is best known for its network of 38,000 bright red, disk-dispensing kiosks at convenience and grocery stores.

It has more recently expanded into streaming and production. It went public last fall in a $693 million SPAC merger with Seaport Global Acquisition Corp.

The stock initially rose past $15 a share but has hit the rocks in recent months, dipping as low as $1.61. The company was forced to lay off 10% of its staff and said it was looking at strategic alternatives.The all-stock deal will make Chicken Soup for the Soul an even greater force in the booming sector of ad-supported streaming.

The IAB, an industry trade group, last week reported that connected-TV advertising jumped 57% in 2021 compared with 2020. Top-end players like Disney and Netflix have recently announced plans for ad-supported tiers of their services.In addition to Crackle, which it acquired from Sony in 2020, Chicken Soup for the Soul’s portfolio includes an eponymous service launched last fall as well as Popcornflix.