A Tencent-led consortium is taking a 10 percent stake in Vivendi's Universal Music Group (UMG), valuing the music label that houses Lady Gaga and The Beatles at 30 billion euros (34 billion U.S. dollars) and giving the Chinese firm a global backstage pass.
Tencent said in an online statement Tuesday that "Tencent and the consortium members are excited to support UMG's growth through this investment," while Vivendi noted on its official website that it is "very happy with the arrival of Tencent and its co-investors" and believe "they will enable UMG to further develop in the Asian market."
The deal allows both companies to expand in a recovering global music market, giving Tencent more access to U.S. artists while UMG can tap into the Asian market, including big-selling "K-Pop" Korean pop stars.
After months of talks, French media conglomerate Vivendi said on Tuesday it had finalized the sale of an initial 10 percent of the world's largest music label to the Tencent consortium, which also had the option to buy up to 10 percent more by January 2021 on the same price basis.
Vivendi, controlled by French billionaire Vincent Bollore, is seeking to cash in on the music industry's revival, driven by a growing subscription and ad-based music streaming services and the deal gives UMG an enterprise value of 30 billion euros.
The initial deal would soon be followed by a second one allowing Tencent Music Entertainment to buy a minority stake in UMG's greater China subsidiary.
Tencent, the China-based internet giant, raked in 97.23 billion yuan (about 13.75 billion U.S. dollars) in the third quarter, up 21 percent over one year ago, with revenue from fintech and business services surging 36 percent to 26.75 billion yuan.
(With input from Reuters)