Tencent Music Entertainment will submit its IPO to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on September 7th with its IPO slated for October 18th, sources within China are reporting. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are underwriting the IPO at a value of about $30 billion, just under Spotify’s market value of $31 billion.
Tencent Music operates Chinese and Asian streaming music services QQ Music, Kugou, and Kuwo with users estimates of 254 million, 227 million and 111 million respectively in the first quarter of 2018, according to iResearch shows. Tencent Music controls more than 75% of China’s legal music streaming market.
Spotify Could Gain Billions, Increased Investor Confidence
Last year, Tencent and Spotify did a stock swap, taking an estimated 9% non-controlling interest in the other. In addition to opening up potential new opportunities for both companies, the stock deal aligned two of the worlds top streaming services music streaming services in future licensing negotiations with labels and music publishers.
If Tencent Music successfully IPOs at a $30 billion valuation, Spotify’s share would be worth as much as $2.7 billion. A successful IPO could also further bolster investor confidence in Spotify and its yet-turn-a-profit business model.