Downloadable music company GoodNoise Corp. in Palo Alto, CA has
signed agreements to acquire privately held Nordic Entertainment Worldwide in Napa,
CA and Creative Fulfillment Inc. (Emusic.com) in
Santa Monica.
Nordic is the leading provider of downloadable music on the Internet,
GoodNoise said. Nordic was the first Web site to sell digitally downloadable
music and maintains the largest catalog of downloadable music for sale on the
Internet, featuring more than 1,000 artists and over 6,000 songs.
Creative Fulfillment is an entertainment and Internet marketing company that
operates the Emusic site. Emusic is a
music retail and
information site that offers more than 135,000 CD titles and 30,000 video
titles as well as downloadable music through a partnership with Nordic
Entertainment. Nordic and Emusic also maintain a
network of Internet radio stations.
GoodNoise said the acquisitions (financial specifics were not disclosed)
position it as “the clear leader” in the emerging market for downloadable
music.
Upon completion of the transactions, GoodNoise plans to relaunch Emusic.com as
a site designed to be the premier location for finding, purchasing and
downloading music on the Internet.
Under the terms of the transactions, which include stock and cash, GoodNoise
will issue up to 2.1 million shares of GoodNoise stock, subject to certain
closing conditions. GoodNoise expects both acquisitions to close in
approximately 90 days. GoodNoise closed at $7.62 yesterday.
“The market for downloadable recordings, while in its infancy, is poised for
tremendous growth over the next three to five years,” said Bob Kohn, chairman
of GoodNoise. Nordic Entertainment founder and CEO Kent Kiefer, and Creative
Fulfillment founder and CEO Mark Chasan, will join the GoodNoise executive
management team.
