For a second time, Lew Dickey is asking for more time to consummate the purchase of U.K. streaming audio company Akazoo. The former Cumulus Media CEO is asking shareholders of his Modern Media Acquisition Corp. to extend the date by which the company must cinch the deal from June 17 to Aug. 17. No details on why more time is needed have been made public. “The purpose of the extension amendment is to allow the company more time to complete its proposed business combination,” was the reasoning given in a regulatory filing. There are four additional components to the latest maneuver: It’s not the first time Dickey has gone to investors seeking more time to get the deal across the finish line since MMA announced Jan. 24 it will merge with U.K.-based digital music streaming platform Akazoo Limited in a deal that values the combined company at $469 million. The two companies have been working to check off all the boxes to close their merger, including making all required filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That’s already meant the original deadline was pushed back from Feb. 17 to June 17. MMA now says the companies have again determined that “there will not be sufficient time” by then to seal the deal, hence the latest maneuver. To sweeten the pot, Dickey in early February agreed to pony up some of his own cash in a series of moves tied to the calendar. For each month starting Feb. 17 needed to close the deal, Dickey agreed to make a contribution of 3 cents per share. As of March 26, Dickey had committed $1,966,000 from his own pocket, according to a regulatory filing made last month. The sooner the deal closes, the less Dickey will need to loan the company. If Dickey uses the entire two month extension (until Aug. 17) to close the deal, he will have made a $4.2 million loan to the company. MMA calls the purchase of Akazoo “compelling and in the best interests of our stockholders.” In its ninth year of operation, Akazoo specializes in emerging markets with 4.3 million subscribers for its premium music service in 25 countries across Europe, Southeast Asia, South America and Africa. Akazoo doesn’t currently operate in the U.S. With a catalogue of 45 million songs and a free radio service providing access to 100,000 stations, Akazoo expects to grow to 10 million paid subscribers by 2021. The combined holding company will be headquartered in Luxembourg and plans to go public on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the symbol “SONG.”
Modern Media Acquisition shareholders have been asked to extend the completion deadline for the acquisition of Akazoo by two months until 17 August . This is the second time CEO Lew Dickey has asked investors for more time to complete the $ 469 m purchase of the streaming audio company . Delays to closure have resulted in Dickey lending the company $ 2 m from his own pocket , a sum that will increase to $ 500 m if the entire two - month deal is required .