British F1 and McLaren legend Ron Dennis has acquired a 10% stake in UK streaming service Roxi Music.
Roxi, whose backers include Robbie Williams, Alesha Dixon, Sheryl Crow and Paul McGuinness, is preparing to IPO on the London Stock Exchange in early 2020.
The company is bidding to combat small screen and social media addiction with an "affordable, fun, family-friendly shared music entertainment experience for the home" featuring unlimited music, music games, karaoke singalongs and worldwide radio access.
“Small screen addiction, with kids glued to social media and smartphones, is a massive problem for families today," said Dennis. "I’m investing in Roxi as it provides an antidote; getting kids off smartphones and iPads and gets them enjoying lots of different musical experiences together with their parents, siblings and friends - and all through a fun interactive experience that involves music, games and singing."
Dennis, the founder and former owner, chairman and CEO of McLaren Technology Group, added: "Kids today spend over 23 hours per week glued to their small screens, over twice the time they spend interacting with their family. The big picture is we need to get kids off tablets, phones and headphones, and to start enjoying fun shared entertainment experiences together. The next revolution in family friendly entertainment will be big screen centric experiences, and Roxi is well placed to kick start this revolution.”
Rob Dennis' investment in Roxi enables the business to ramp up marketing and manufacturing for Q4, just ahead of our planned IPO
Rob Lewis
Roxi
Rob Lewis, CEO of Roxi, added: “Ron Dennis is the one of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs, having founded and grown the McLaren Technology Group. Having Ron join our team will help us deliver Roxi's shared music experiences to more families, more rapidly, in more countries, giving families more quality time together and less time isolated on smartphones and tablets.”
"Ron Dennis’ investment in Roxi enables the business to ramp up marketing and manufacturing for Q4, just ahead of our planned IPO on AIM which will take place as soon as Brexit and other political uncertainty is resolved."
Roxi is billed as the world’s only "Made-For-TV" music entertainment system. Plugging into any flat screen TV, it features a two-minute set-up and works with any speakers available.
