Published 2016-04-01

Schibsteds comments on letter from Panther Bidco

Schibsted has been notified of a potential compensation claim after the sale of Aspiro. Schibsted disagrees with the accusations and any potential claims.

During Easter, Schibsted and several others received a letter from lawyers MASQ in Stockholm on behalf of Panther Bidco regarding a potential compensation claim after their acquisition of the shares in Aspiro. The story has received broad public attention in the press.

No figures are mentioned in the letter so we regard any estimates on the size of a potential claim mentioned in press reports as pure speculation.

Schibsteds official comments regarding Tidal are as follows:

  • We disagree with the accusations in the letter and any potential claims.
  • We would like to point out that the company was listed on the Stock Exchange with everything that entails regarding transparent financial reporting
  • The buyer also did a Due Diligence of the company. It is worth noting that this was more than one year ago.

The letter specifically mentions the number of subscribers as an issue. It is therefore worth noting that Aspiro released a statement to the Stock Exchange with a detailed account of the number of subscribers before the transaction – see it here or as a PDF.

See also their detailed information regarding the company’s strategic and financial situation here.

Schibsted is of the opinion that the information given by the company Aspiro has been very thorough and open and communicated clearly.

Related documents:

Schibsted accepted the offer from Panther Bidco on 30. January 2015:

Schibsted sells all shares in Aspiro to Project Panther Bidco Ltd on 13. March 2015.