Jay Z has set his sights on buying Aspiro, the Swedish parent company of two subscription streaming services, WiMP and TIDAL. The offer of 464 million Swedish krona, or $56.2 million, represents a 59.1 percent premium over yesterday's closing share price. It was announced by Aspiro early this morning and has already been accepted. Trading of Aspiro stock was up 76 percent on the news this morning, to 0.08 per share.
The proposed acquisition is being made via the mogul's Project Panther Bidco, a subsidiary of his S. Carter Enterprises, and is still subject to shareholder approval. A spokesperson said Panther's "strategic ambition" for Aspiro is to expand and up-scale its technology and services. The full statement from the rep is below:
Project Panther Bidco, Ltd ("Panther"), an entity controlled by S. Carter Enterprises, LLC ("SCE") is pursuing a possible acquisition of Aspiro AB ("Aspiro"), based in Sweden. Aspiro is a media technology company in the forefront of the ongoing redefinition of music consumption. Through the subscription services WiMP and TIDAL, Aspiro offers a complete experience of higher HiFi quality. The platform encompasses audio, video and integrated editorial features.