Shareholders of Seattle-based streaming-turned-computer-vision company RealNetworks Inc. (Nasdaq: RNWK) have approved its planned merger with Greater Heights LLC, an affiliate company of founder and CEO Robert Glaser.
Roughly 91% of shareholder votes went in favor of the merger at a special meeting on Wednesday. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, RealNetworks said it expects the deal to close "on or about" Tuesday.
The company's board in July approved the merger, which will take the company private.
"I founded RealNetworks 28 years ago because I believed that the Internet represented a once-in-a-generation transformational opportunity for digital media," Glaser said in a news release when the board approved the merger. "I'm happy that the RealNetworks board and I could reach agreement on a path to pursue that transformation with focus, efficiency and speed by turning Real back into a private company, and in a way that is fair to all shareholders."
Glaser and his affiliates currently own about 39% of outstanding shares of the company, RealNetworks said in the release. Outstanding RealNetworks shares will be converted into a right-to-receive-cash consideration of 73 cents per share through the merger. An independent committee advised RealNetworks' board when considering the merger.
RealNetworks, founded in 1994, offers facial recognition technology, text message management and casual games. In 2003, the company acquired Rhapsody, which began operating independently in 2010. Rhapsody in 2011 announced plans to acquire the once-famous file-sharing service Napster, and Rhapsody ended up rebranding to the iconic Napster name in 2016. In 2020, RealNetworks sold Napster for about $70.6 million.
In its third quarter 2022 financial results, released in November, RealNetworks said it generated $11.7 million in revenue for the quarter, down from $14.3 million during the same period in 2021. Those revenues mark massive declines from the company's heyday with the RealPlayer digital media player. In the fourth quarter of 2008, for example, RealNetworks generated $152.6 million in revenue, as measured in 2009 dollars.
