Tencent Holdings Ltd. doubles his participation in the music giant behind Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish.
The Chinese internet company said on Friday that it was leading a consortium that had agreed to buy an additional 10% stake in Vivendi SE’s Universal Music Group, in a deal that values the world’s largest music business at 30 billion euros. equivalent to $ 36.8 billion.
The agreement reinforces Tencent’s growing presence in the record industry and its exposure to some of the big names in music. The Universal stable also includes classic acts like Queen and the Beatles, and has recently purchased the entire Bob Dylan editorial catalog.
The purchase comes nearly a year after the Tencent-led consortium, which includes its streaming business Tencent Music Entertainment Group and other undisclosed investors, first bought a 10% stake in Universal. This agreement included an option to purchase an additional stake of up to 10% in the same valuation.
Tencent and Vivendi also signed a separate agreement in March that allowed Tencent Music to acquire a minority stake in Universal subsidiary, which owns operations in Greater China.