Chinese technology company Tencent, which counts billionaires Ma Huateng and Martin Lau among its largest shareholders, and its subsidiary Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) have agreed to buy 10% of Thailand-based GMM Music for $70 million.
The deal, which values GMM Music at $700 million, is expected to close during the second quarter of this year, ahead of GMM Music’s planned initial public offering on the Thai Stock Exchange, parent company GMM Grammy said in a filing with the Thai Stock Exchange. .
From the deal, Tencent and TME will pay $45 million in cash for the acquisition of GMM Music’s stake and move 30% of their stake in Thai online music streaming platform Joox Thailand to GMM Grammy.
“This investment will solidify our spin-off project,” GMM Music CEO Phawit Chitrakorn said in a separate statement. “This partnership will lead to cooperative efforts to expand into new and broader markets, where China is one of the main target territories with its immense market potential. “
GMM Grammy shares jumped 5. 3% on Wednesday morning after jumping 30% to Tuesday’s high, final at 7. 55 baht. The company approved its plan to list GMM Music in July 2023. It plans to sell up to 30% of the new and existing shares of GMM Music, which manages Thai music artists such as Bird Thongchai, Peck Palitchoke and rock band Bodyslam, will go public later this year.
“As the music industry enters the second wave of boom, with record revenues and continuing to grow, GMM Music has developed a new strategic roadmap to drive our long-term growth, while constantly improving the infrastructure of the Thai music industry. “One of our key methods is to expand collaborative partnerships with foreign music industry leaders who believe in the future of Thai music. We are very pleased that TME and Tencent have agreed to make a strategic investment in GMM Music. “
GMM Grammy is one of Thailand’s leading entertainment companies, with interests in incorporating music, media, movies, broadcasts, artist management, and teleshopping. It posted a net loss of 132. 6 million baht in 2023 with a net profit of 166. 4 million baht in 2022. , while cash will increase to 6 billion baht from 5. 3 billion baht in 2022.