This felt like a goose bump moment to us at FintekNews. When the JOBS Act passed in 2012, enabling firms to raise money via crowdfunding from non-accredited investors, we knew it was big, but we're still amazed at how big the whole movement is becoming. Now we're about to see the franchise Chicken Soup for the Soul, do a Reg A+ crowdfund for its entertainment division, and then list its shares on Nasdaq Global Market. If it does not win approval for the latter, it will file to list on Nasdaq's Capital Markets, the lower tier listing silo from Nasdaq. A wow moment for the fintech world.
(Cindy Taylor/Publisher)
"Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment filed regulatory paperwork to do an equity crowdfunding campaign and subsequent listing of its shares on Nasdaq. The company plans to raise up to $30 million – including $3.1 million from selling shareholders – at $12 a share, according to the filing. The offering, under the Reg A+ equity crowdfunding rules, would value the company at nearly $150 million, and could make it the first equity crowdfunded company to list its shares on Nasdaq.
By doing such a mini-IPO, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, the video division of the Chicken Soup for the Soul empire, could market its shares to its millions of fans on social media and by email – giving those fans the ability to get in on the IPO along with Wall Street investors. Chicken Soup for the Soul has 2.6 million Facebook fans, and its inspirational content garnered more than 10 billion views across all platforms, including Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.
The Cos Cob, Conn.-based has been growing quickly since premiering its first show, Chicken Soup for the Soul’s Hidden Heroes, on CBS in October 2015. The company’s revenues were $8.1 million in 2016, up from $1.5 million the year earlier, according to filing. It turned a small profit, of $781,133 last year, versus a loss of $753,463 the previous year. In addition to its own shows, it has an exclusive distribution agreement with A Plus, a digital media company founded by Ashton Kutcher and majority owned by a Chicken Soup affiliate..."
Source: Forbes