Timing may finally be right for a Scribd IPO.
Catching up with PW's Andrew Albanese
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Bloomberg and other financial news services report that Scribd, the content platform, is preparing an Initial Public Offering, possibly for later this year. Estimated valuations for the company – a subscription service for online content including books, magazines, news, and podcasts — are near $1 billion.
According to Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly senior writer, the IPO timing may finally be right for Scribd, which Trip Adler founded in 2007.
“I look out at the media landscape, and I see every other form of content available via subscription,” he notes. “The major book publishers remain resistant, but for how much longer?”
Currently, about one million subscribers pay Scribd $8.99 monthly for subscription access to content, including e-books. The company says it has about $100 million in annual revenue and is profitable, Albanese notes.
“Scribd has very smartly positioned themselves as the company to handle subscription e-book access if and when the majors decide to give that a shot,” Albanese tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally. “After the pandemic, I think long held beliefs among publishers about consumer behavior are up for a fresh look.”
Every Friday, CCC’s “Velocity of Content” speaks with the editors and reporters of “Publishers Weekly” for an early look at the news that publishers, editors, authors, agents and librarians will be talking about when they return to work on Monday.
