TME(US:TME) 3 6 Ke·2025-06-11 02:14Group 1: Acquisition Details - Tencent Music is acquiring Ximalaya for $1.26 billion in cash and approximately 5.2% equity, totaling around $2.7 to $2.8 billion [1] - Tencent Music was already a shareholder in Ximalaya, holding about 5.33% of its shares [1] - Ximalaya has raised nearly 10 billion RMB over 12 funding rounds but has struggled to go public, leading to the decision to sell to Tencent [1] Group 2: Market Context - The acquisition comes at a significant discount compared to Ximalaya's peak valuation of approximately 30 billion RMB (over $4 billion) in 2021, representing a nearly 30% decline [6] - Ximalaya's monthly active users (MAU) have decreased to under 200 million, down about one-third from its peak in 2021, due to competition from short video platforms and aggressive commercialization [8][6] Group 3: Strategic Implications for Tencent Music - The acquisition will enhance Tencent Music's product offerings, filling a gap in the long audio content segment, which includes podcasts and audiobooks [8][9] - Tencent Music aims to integrate audio content into its existing platforms, potentially offering a unified membership service that includes music and audio content [10][11] - The acquisition positions Tencent Music to better compete against rivals like NetEase Cloud Music and ByteDance, which are disrupting the market with free models [12][14] Group 4: Competitive Landscape - ByteDance's free music streaming app, Soda Music, has rapidly gained 60 million MAU, posing a direct challenge to Tencent Music's paid subscription model [12][14] - The competition between Tencent and ByteDance spans multiple content areas, including short videos, long videos, literature, and audio [15] - The industry is witnessing a shift towards mixed monetization models, balancing subscription services with free content to attract a broader user base [16][17]