Swedish music streaming service Spotify and Chinese internet company Tencent have struck a deal to take minority stakes in each other.
The companies said Friday they will acquire new shares representing minority equity stakes in each other for cash—Tencent Music Entertainment will invest in Spotify, while the Swedish music startup will take a stake in Tencent's music wing. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said the "transaction will allow both companies to benefit from the global growth of music streaming."
The CEO of Tencent Music Entertainment Group, Cussion Pang, said he was "excited to embark on this partnership with the largest music streaming platform in the world." He added that together they will "explore collaboration opportunities" with the objective "to foster a vibrant music ecosystem that benefits users, artists and content owners."
The Chinese internet company Tencent runs the WeChat messaging app, as well as online payment platforms and games. Its president, Martin Lau, said the deal would "facilitate this strategic collaboration between the two largest digital music platforms in the world."
None of Spotify's users are in China. According to the Swedish music streaming service's website, Spotify had as of July over 60 million subscribers and 140 million active users who can access to over 30 million songs.
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