Tencent invests in Thai music giant GMM, boosting reach
Tencent has invested in a Thai music company, owned by the biggest media and entertainment conglomerate in Thailand.
Tencent Holdings, the Chinese tech conglomerate, has partnered with their music arm, Tencent Music Entertainment (TME), to expand their business. They have acquired a 10% stake in Thailand’s leading music company, GMM Music. The acquisition is valued at $70 million, and opens the door to expanding Thailand’s music industry.
GMM Music is a subsidiary of Thailand’s biggest media and entertainment conglomerate, GMM Grammy. With Tencent’s investment, the company’s music business in GMM Music is valued at around $700 million. GMM Music CEO Phawit Chitrakorn said that the investment bolsters their planned IPO and fosters more business growth.
One of our key strategies is to develop collaborative partnerships with international music industry leaders who believe in the potential of Thai music
Chitrakorn writes: “As the music industry is entering the second wave boom, with revenue surpassing all time high and continuing on the upswing, GMM Music has developed a new strategic roadmap to drive our future growth, along with continuously improving the infrastructure for the Thai music industry.”
He adds: “One of our key strategies is to develop collaborative partnerships with international music industry leaders who believe in the potential of Thai music. We are greatly delighted that TME and Tencent have agreed to make a strategic investment in GMM Music by acquiring 10% of our shares for approximately $70 million unlocking the company value of $700 million.”
The investment will see GMM Music gain a minority stake in Joox Thailand, the Thai branch of Tencent-owned music streaming service Joox. The partnership will help GMM Music to push to larger markets, expanding the reach of Thai artists globally.
Regarding their plans for an IPO, Chief Marketing Officer for GMM Music Fahmai Damrongchaitham said: “We believe there is solid support for the success of the company’s IPO. Fundamentally, we also strive to drive sustainable growth with continuous exchange of competencies and know-how, extending markets and sales beyond territories, and contributing deep resources in user insight and technology for future music innovations.”
Damrongchaitham adds: “Through this partnership, TME and Tencent will fuel GMM Music in accelerating growth, allowing us to capture new levels of opportunities in the emerging market, while enhancing our capabilities with the best of global music resources.”