Tencent is interested in buying Spotify in an effort to expand their music business outside of China and Asia. Spotify and Tencent refused to comment on this.
It remains unclear whether the two had talked about prices. But, given Spotify plans to conduct an IPO, it is unlikely that their discussion with Tencent could discuss the price. The reason Tencent is interested in buying Spotify is obvious.
Spotify has become the world's leading music streaming service. They have over 140 million active subscribers and 60 million paid subscribers. The 11-year-old company is valued at US $ 13 billion.
Their main rival is Apple, which launched its service shortly after Spotify emerged and now has paid subscribers of 27 million.
While Tencent himself was floating his music business. Its main division, Tencent Music, was founded after Tencent's QQ Music Business merged with China Music Corp last year.
With 3 main services, QQ Music, Kugou, and Kuwo, Tencent Music has 600 million users. Reportedly, they plan to get funds before the IPO.
In addition to its business in China, Tencent looks interested to enter the world market. They operate Joox, a freemium music service that has gained momentum in Southeast Asia. Spotify, available in 60 countries, can make Tencent's international expansion plans real. However, Tencent's plan seems to have ended in failure.
