HT&E sells its stake in communications technology company Soprano

ARN’s parent company HT&E will sell its stake in Soprano for $66 million.

Soprano is a technology company that supplies SMS, AI Voice and messaging services. The company has grown to be an important player in the new communications fields in recent years, bringing in good returns to HT&E in recent years.

HT&E has had its share in the company on the market for a while after deciding that it was not core business for the primarily radio and audio company. In May 2021 it announced a deal to sell its stake to Link Mobility, but the deal fell through in September 2021.

HT&E kept its stake up for sale, and has now announced it has signed a binding share sale agreement to sell its stake in Soprano Design Limited (Soprano) to Potentia Capital. Potentia is a leading Australian technology focused private equity firm.

Under the agreement, HT&E will receive about $66.3 million in cash as consideration for the sale of its entire 25% interest. The transaction is conditional upon receiving Foreign Interest Review Board (FIRB) approval.

“After an extensive outreach process with various interested parties, the Potentia proposal was considered to be the most attractive for HT&E shareholders,” says the company.

Global Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) and technology markets have been challenged
over the past 12 months, so HT&E considers this transaction to be “a positive outcome in today’s market, with an all-cash deal enabling the company to focus on its position as a leading provider of audio services in Australia.”

“This transaction delivers HT&E shareholders a meaningful return on investment and provides further balance sheet strength and financial flexibility for HT&E to continue to invest in its core media assets,” says HT&E.