Tencent Music, the music streaming business that is owned by Chinese internet giant Tencent, recently revived its plans to be listed in New York and raise $1.2 billion from investors. Reportedly, this will be one of the largest listings in the New York Stock Exchange by any Chinese company.
According to a regulatory filing, Tencent Music is reported to plan raising $1.07 billion to $1.23 billion through the IPO. Earlier in 2018, Tencent Music was reported to aim at raising $2 billion. In spite of lowering its bracket, it will be the third largest Chinese IPO in the U.S. following streaming video platform iQiyi which raised $2.3 billion and Pinduoduo the social shopping app which raised $1.6 billion in 2018.
The company had previously put its listing on hold due to the turmoil in the financial market in which tech stocks were hard hit. However, reliable sources suggest that the company declined to confirm this.
Tencent Music owns a slew of apps through which users listen to music, watch live performance by pop stars or connect with others to sing karaoke. In its SEC filing, the company revealed that it has 800 million monthly active users among its four music apps.
Through the IPO Tencent Music is reportedly aiming at selling 82 million shares to global investors and each share is estimated to cost between $13 to $15. An over-allotment option can also be used to offer a further 12.3 million shares. Tencent Music’s stock will have the ticker TME but it was not revealed when the stocks will start trading in New York. According to Reuters the trading will start on December 12, 2018.
Reliable sources report that the IPO of Tencent Music is an addition to the biggest year for Chinese tech listings after Alibaba offered its IPO in 2014. Xiaomi, the smartphone maker and Meituan Dianping the online services provider are instances of other high-profile Chinese IPOs both of which went public in Hong Kong.