Struggling streaming startup Quibi is looking to be acquired or conduct an IPO through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), among other potential moves, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Quibi has successfully launched a new business and pioneered a new form of storytelling and state-of-the-art platform,” the startup said in a statement Monday, responding to the WSJ report. "Meg and Jeffrey are committed to continuing to build the business in the way that gives the greatest experience for customers, greatest value for shareholders and greatest opportunity for employees.”
The streaming service designed just for mobile devices got off to a conspicuously slow start in April. Quibi hasn’t released a subscriber count for its service, which starts at $4.99 a month
Founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg and led by CEO Meg Whitman, Quibi is backed by $1.75 billion in investment from companies including Disney, Comcast NBCUniversal, AT&T/WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS.
But the company, which has blamed its early struggles on a pandemic market it wasn’t designed to serve, is reportedly looking for its next big move.
WSJ didn’t specify which suitors, if any, Quibi is actually talking to. A special purpose acquisition company is one thats IPO’s specifically to establish itself on a trading market like the Nasdaq before it “acquires” a company, like Quibi, that wishes to go public.
It’s a strategy currently being leveraged by other companies in the video streaming business, including CuriosityStream.
