Tencent, Tencent Music to pick up 10% stake in Thailand's GMM Music for $70 million

(Reuters) -Thai entertainment platform GMM Music on Monday said Tencent and Tencent Music Entertainment will acquire a 10% stake in the company for $70 million, solidifying its spin-off plan.

Tencent and its controlled entity Tencent Music will buy the stake through a combination of cash and a minority stake in music streaming app JOOX Thailand, valuing GMM Music at $700 million.

In July 2023, GMM Music's parent company GMM Grammy approved a plan for spinning off the music unit and listing it on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

The deal will help GMM Music expand its business and fund innovation, the company said.

"This partnership will lead to cooperative efforts in expanding our business into new and larger markets, where China is one of the key target territories with its immense market potential," Phawit Chitrakorn, chief executive officer of GMM Music said.

(Reporting by Adwitiya Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)