Short-video app Triller to go public via $5 bln merger with SeaChange (updated)

Tiber Ventures

22/12/2021 14:36

(Adds transaction details, background)
    Dec 22 (Reuters) - Short-video app Triller will go public
through a reverse merger with SeaChange International Inc
 SEAC.O , in a deal that will value the combined entity at
around $5 billion, the companies said on Wednesday. 
    Investors have committed to invest $250 million as part of
the deal, Reuters reported last week, citing a person familiar
with the matter.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2SZ00K 
    A reverse merger is a deal wherein a private company goes
public by buying a listed company.
    The deal comes after the owner of the short-video app
shelved plans to list through a merger with a blank-check firm
last year, as investor sentiment soured on what has been one of
the biggest trends on Wall Street. 
    Triller was also looking at the direct listing method of
listing shares, Reuters reported in June.
    The company also owns Triller Fight Club, a live-event
platform in partnership with rapper Snoop Dogg and operates
TrillerTV, a long-form content streaming platform with more than
65 original shows.
    Shares of SeaChange were last up 70% at $3.05 in early
trading. SeaChange, a provider of video delivery, advertising,
and streaming platforms, has a market capitalization of nearly
$88 million, according to data from Refinitiv.
    The combined company will be named TrillerVerz Corp and will
be led by Mahi de Silva, the chief executive officer of
Triller's parent company. 
    TrillerVerz will trade on the Nasdaq following deal close,
which is expected in the first quarter of next year, and the
ticker symbol will change to "ILLR" from "SEAC". 

   

 (Reporting by Sohini Podder and Niket Nishant in Bengaluru;
editing by Uttaresh.V and Shinjini Ganguli)
 ((Sohini.Podder@thomsonreuters.com;))