U.K.'s Meanfiddler.com To Take Over Parent Company

Meanfiddler Holdings, owner of the Mean Fiddler Group of London music venues and festivals, has agreed to a reverse takeover by meanfiddler.com, its publicly quoted subsidiary of media properties. The deal values the enlarged Meanfiddler Holdings at £32 million ($44.8 million).

Meanfiddler.com, listed on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) stock exchange, had its shares suspended in January while the takeover was negotiated. Should shareholders approve the deal on Aug. 6, the larger company will be refloated on the AIM, enabling it to fulfill its plans to expand the Mean Fiddler brands abroad and create original content for digital TV and Internet broadcast. The brands include London venue the Jazz CafÉ plus annual events that include the Reading Festival.

"We want to expand some of the Meanfiddler brands, like the Jazz CafÉ, to European centers such as Paris, Barcelona, and Manchester [England]," says founder and chairman Vince Power. "The Jazz CafÉ in London has been hugely popular, and we can see the potential to grow not just this brand but the festivals, either through acquisition or partnerships."