Tencent Music sets $1.1bn IPO as the market dances around
Succumbing to global market turbulence, China’s largest music-streaming service, backed by Naspers’s 31%-owned Tencent, sold 82-million American depositary shares at $13 apiece
Hong Kong — Tencent Music Entertainment Group and existing investors raised about $1.1bn after pricing a US initial public offering (IPO) at the bottom of a marketed range, succumbing to the same global market turbulence that’s sapped enthusiasm for stock debuts. China’s largest music-streaming service, which is backed by Naspers’s 31%-owned Tencent, and current holders sold 82-million American depositary shares at $13 apiece, according to a statement. The shares were offered at $13 to $15 each. Tencent Music opted to price lower after initially guiding fund managers that orders were coming in around the midpoint of the marketed range. Tencent Music will debut at a valuation of about $21.3bn, falling short of the $23.3bn of Spotify Technology, the Swedish peer that’s also an investor in the Chinese company. Its less-than-optimal IPO pricing doesn’t bode well for mainland companies considering their own coming-out parties, and follows recent lacklustre debuts by the likes of Mogu.
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