TikTok rival Triller set to go public through merger with SeaChange International

The short video app Triller will go public through a reverse merger with publicly-traded company SeaChange International. The combined entity will be called TrillerVerz and is valued at approximately $5 billion. 

A reverse merger is a deal wherein a private company goes public by buying a public company.

The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2022 and upon closing, the ticker symbol to be changed from “SEAC” to “ILLR”.

Launched in 2015 and with more than 250 million downloads to date, Los Angeles-based Triller allows users to create and share short-form videos set to music, similar to TikTok.

SeaChange, which has run its video advertising business since the mid-1990s, will become a business unit inside of TrillerVerz focused on cable, streaming and advertising. “TrillerVerz believes it is positioned to become a leading AI-powered social media platform for content, creators & commerce and is anticipated to be publicly traded on a U.S. national exchange through the proposed Business Combination.” 

Upon closing, the combined company will be led by TrillerVerz’s CEO, Mahi de Silva, who will also become Chairman of the Board. Peter Aquino, President and CEO of SeaChange will join the TrillerVerz team. 

“TrillerVerz expects it will create a leading voice on the Web3.0 movement and embrace the power of decentralized systems to enable greater participation in the multi-hundred billion dollar creator economy. TrillerVerz believes that creators deserve to own, manage, distribute and monetize their content, and TrillerVerz is designed for ever greater creator control, extensibility, and agency.” the company said in the merger announcement.