Acast Paid 1.24x Revenue for Backyard Ventures

Acast announced on August 11 that it had acquired Backyard Ventures, a US creator network, for $20 million on a cash-free, debt-free basis against $16.1 million of 2025 revenue. That revenue is from unaudited accounts. This is not a podcast-hosting purchase: the filing does not say the shows move onto Acast, and it does not say what the founder is paid to stay.

The consideration is $16 million in cash at closing, funded from existing cash with no external financing, plus $4 million in Acast shares on a deferred schedule. The share count was fixed at closing off the 30-day VWAP: 1,005,671 shares, with a downward value-protection mechanism. Acast can settle that piece in newly issued shares, market purchases, cash, or a mix. New-issue settlement would dilute by about 0.6% at most. Half of the share component is expected on the second anniversary of closing, half on the third. Completion was concurrent with signing. The MAR notice went out at 18:00 CEST.

$20 million divided by $16.1 million is 1.24 times trailing revenue. The same unaudited accounts carry a 12% adjusted EBITDA margin. Twelve percent of $16.1 million is $1.93 million; $20 million on that implied figure is about 10 times. Acast did not publish an absolute EBITDA number.

Company figures put the 200-plus creator roster at 11.5 million monthly listens globally and 46 million simulcast views. Creators' audiences, the filing says, "extend further still" to 230 million monthly YouTube views and 35.5 million newsletter subscribers. Listens and YouTube views are not the same product. This is an omnichannel sale (audio, video, newsletters, social), and the filing does not say how much of the YouTube reach is inventory Acast can sell.

Named titles include Ryan Holiday's The Daily Stoic, Piers Morgan's Uncensored, A Little Bit Culty, SB Mowing on YouTube, Cal Newport's Deep Questions and Mark Manson's Solved. The team stays. Austin becomes Acast's base in the city, not a disclosed US headquarters. The Backyard Ventures brand will be retired. Acast said the deal is not expected to have a material impact on financial position or short-term results.

A "customary retention arrangement" has been agreed with founder Matt Cisneros. The amount is undisclosed. Hosting is also undisclosed in the MAR. Podnews reported that Backyard shows are still hosted and monetised on ART19 and Megaphone. Acast has not said whether feeds will move.