Chicken Soup for Soul Entertainment will begin trading Friday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol « CSSE. »
A feel-good video producer and distributor will begin trading its shares on the Nasdaq global market Friday after raising $30 million in a crowdsourced initial public offering.
With actor Ashton Kutcher on board as an executive producer and collaborator, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment will list under the ticker symbol « CSSE. » The company sold 2.5 million shares of class A common stock at $12 per share.
The offering is under a relatively recent rule allowing small companies looking to raise between $3 and $30 million the chance to sell shares to anyone regardless of their income or assets. Before that rule change, which came under the 2012 JOBS Act, only wealthy, « qualified » investors could take stakes in such ventures.
It is the largest IPO so far under this rule, Nasdaq said in a statement .
« We upsized the offering repeatedly until we reached the $30 million maximum, » CEO William Rouhana said in a statement.
Scott W. Seaton, vice chairman and chief strategy officer of CSS Entertainment, said in a press release that the JOBS Act rule « allowed us to marry ‘the crowd’ with institutional and other traditional Wall Street investors. »
Chicken Soup for the Soul is best known for its publishing division. The book series by that name has sold more than half a billion copies since the company’s founding in 1993.
« This division is to take the essence of our brand and turn it into video stories. We’re known for our books, and our stories are about positive, inspirational items, » Rouhana told CNBC’s « Squawk Box. »
In September 2016, CSS Entertainment entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with A Plus, a digital media company founded and chaired by Kutcher, according to the company’s SEC filing. CSS Entertainment then launched its direct-to-consumer network in March of this year. Kutcher will produce two new television series, « relating to the positive content » of A Plus and CSS Entertainment.
CSS Entertainment acquired a controlling interested in A Plus in 2016. Kutcher retains a 23 percent stake in A Plus and will work closely with CSS Entertainment’s management.
