---
title: Private Equity Buys Podium for $400 Million
description: "Via Wall Street Journal US Business: Audiobook publisher Podium Entertainment has been sold to private equity firms Flexpoint Ford and Shamrock Capital by it..."
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### Private Equity Buys Podium for $400 Million

Wall Street Journal US Business • September 21, 2026 at 5:33 PM ET

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Audiobook publisher Podium Entertainment has been sold to private equity firms Flexpoint Ford and Shamrock Capital by its owner Presidio Investors, for “north of **$400 million**” according to the WSJ. Music rights company Gold State Music is also named as a minority investor in the purchase.

Podium said that going forward it is working with the nonprofit Ownership Works “to establish a program giving all employees an ownership stake in the company and aligning the team with Podium’s next phase of growth.”

Started in **2013**, Podium has built a catalog of more than **15,000** audio titles, many of them from self-published authors. The company focuses on audiobooks and self-published authors—two industry bright spots.

[Read original article](https://www.wsj.com/business/media/private-equity-firms-buy-indie-author-publisher-podium-for-more-than-400-million-33a209e3)

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