Apple has reportedly held talks to buy Wondery, the world's largest independent podcast producer. Wondery wants up to $400 million for the deal.

• At least four companies, including Apple and Sony, have separately held talks about potentially buying Wondery, the world's largest independent podcast producer, Bloomberg reported Friday.
• Wondery is seeking $300 million to $400 million, the sources said, which at the higher end would make a purchase by Apple, Sony or another company the podcast industry's biggest deal yet.
• Wondery is behind "Dirty John," "Dr. Death," "American History Tellers," "Business Wars," and dozens of other podcasts.

Apple and Sony have separately held talks with podcast producer Wondery about a potential acquisition, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing sources close to the matter.

Wondery, which is behind podcasts such as "Dirty John," "Dr. Death," "American History Tellers," and "Business Wars," wants between $300 million and $400 million, the sources said.

At the higher end of the range, any deal would be the industry's biggest deal yet. In July, satellite radio company SiriusXM bought podcast company Stitcher for $325 million.

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At least four companies have held talks with Wondery, Bloomberg reported, and a deal is expected in coming months.

Spotify —which has spent big money on podcast talent and is reportedly considering a podcast-only subscription plan — decided not to bid, two sources told the publication.

Wondery did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. Business Insider has also approached Apple and Sony for comment.

Read more: Meet the 29 power players of podcasting who are pushing original audio production forward as the industry surges toward $1 billion in ad revenue

Wondery is behind more than 100 current podcasts including, and is developing more than a dozen TV shows based on its podcasts, including one for Apple about WeWork.

In October, more than 8 million unique listeners in the US streamed or downloaded Wondery's podcasts a total of 58 million times, according to data from Podtrac. This places it as the sixth-biggest podcast publisher in the US, and the largest independent podcast publisher in the world.

Wondery was launched in 2016 by former Fox International Channels CEO Hernan Lopez.

Apple has ramped up its podcasting services in recent years, buying Pop Up Archive in 2017 and Scout FM earlier in 2020 — but buying Wondery would mark a renewed commitment to podcasting, which as a medium doesn't generate much money.

As a while, podcasting generates $1 billion a year in ad sales in the US, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, per Bloomberg.