Lemonada Media, a podcast network that produces and distributes shows from partners including Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, inked a deal to sell a majority stake to European podcast company PodX Group.
Terms of the deal aren’t being disclosed. The acquisition will mark the first entry by PodX Group, based in Stockholm, Sweden, into the U.S. market.
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Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Lemonada Media was founded in 2019 by CEO Jessica Cordova Kramer and chief content officer Stephanie Wittels Wachs after “the devastating loss of our brothers,” they said in a statement. The company had “a simple yet salient mission: to make life suck less,” according to co-founders.
Lemonada Media’s top podcasts include “Confessions of a Female Founder” with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, “Wiser Than Me With Julia Louis-Dreyfus”; “Fail Better With David Duchovny”; “Choice Words With Samantha Bee”; and “The Sarah Silverman Podcast.” To date, the network has launched more than 50 original podcasts along with nearly 40 partner shows.
“What began as a way for us to channel our own grief into something meaningful has grown into one of the biggest podcast networks in the U.S., and one that connects, heals, and entertains,” Cordova Kramer and Wittels Wachs said in a joint statement. “Joining the PodX network would mark an exciting new chapter in Lemonada’s story.”
PodX Group, founded in 2021, has aggregated a number of podcast studios, including Nouvelles Écoutes and Studio Minuit in France; Posta in Argentina; Oronda Studio in Mexico; Filt, Perfect Day and Suomen Podcastmedia in the Nordics; and Goldhawk Productions, Listen and Platform Media in the UK. PodX Group is a part of Qarlbo, a Sweden-based global investment company.
“This is a landmark transaction, once completed, and will take both PodX and Lemonada into an even greater trajectory,” Patrick Svensk, CEO of PodX Group, said in a statement. “Lemonada has built an extraordinary podcast network with talent and stories that resonate deeply with listeners. By joining forces, we see tremendous opportunities to amplify these stories on a global scale and continue innovating in the podcasting space.”
Once the deal closes, Lemonada Media would continue to operate under its existing leadership team and will retain the brand.
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