Simpson Thacher is representing Spotify in connection with its announced equity investment transactions with Tencent Holdings Limited (“Tencent”) and its subsidiary, Tencent Music Entertainment Group (“TME”). Following these transactions, Spotify will hold a minority stake in TME, and both Tencent and TME will hold minority stakes in Spotify.
Spotify operates the world’s largest music streaming service, with over 140 million active users, including over 60 million subscribers, across 61 markets. Tencent, which owns a majority stake in TME, operates the most popular social platforms in China and has a proven record of investing in innovative technology companies. TME is an early mover in authorized digital music and is the largest online music services company in China.
The Simpson Thacher team includes Alan Klein, William Allen, Jun Won Kim and John Loubriel (M&A – New York); Shaolin Luo, Yang Wang, Vincent Zhou and Jun Feng (M&A – Beijing); Lori Lesser and Marcela Robledo (IP); Jasmine Hay (Tax); and David Vann, Sara Razi, Ellen Frye, Kelly Karapetyan and John Goheen (Antitrust).