- Tencent Music Entertainment Group (NYSE: TME) has announced it is buying audiobook company Lazy Audio for 2.7 billion yuan ($417 million) from Shenzhen Lanren Online Technology Co. These are the details about the deal.
Tencent Music Entertainment Group (NYSE: TME) has announced it is buying audiobook company Lazy Audio for 2.7 billion yuan ($417 million) from Shenzhen Lanren Online Technology Co. primarily payable in cash plus certain post-acquisition equity-settled awards to Lazy Audio’s management team. And the existing shareholders of Lazy Audio include China Literature Limited, Lazy Audio’s management team, and other financial investors. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2021 subject to customary closing conditions.
Launched in 2012, Lazy Audio is a comprehensive audio platform providing entertainment in the forms of audiobooks, Chinese comedy, podcasts and other radio shows to customers. And it monetizes via different channels, including pay per title, subscription payment for content, and advertising.
Lazy Audio is going to maintain its independent operations while being an essential component of TME’s overall long-form audio strategy. And upon completion of acquisition, TME will consolidate the investment in Lazy Audio, and enable Lazy Audio to have full access to TME’s expertise, leading technology, and strong promotional capabilities.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are delighted to welcome the talented Lazy Audio team to the TME family, and expect this strategic acquisition to significantly deepen our presence in the fast growing long-form audio industry in China. As a leading provider of audio entertainment, Lazy Audio can be seamlessly integrated into our existing long-form audio strategy, enabling us to further monetize the extensive library of high-quality literature IPs that we have access to through strategic partnerships with China Literature and others.”
“Lazy Audio’s catalog is set to expand our audio content library, and its recording capacity will significantly boost our production of audiobooks. We believe this partnership will help us cater to the increasingly nuanced needs of our customers, strengthen our brand recognition in this segment, generate considerable operational synergies, and accelerate our journey to become a leading audio entertainment platform in China.”
— Cussion Pang, Chief Executive Officer of Tencent Music
“We share the same vision with TME that China’s audio industry is a less-penetrated area with great potential. Merging with TME will benefit us to strengthen our competitiveness, establish a stronger connection with Tencent portfolio and bring Lazy Audio to the next level.”
— Bin Song, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lazy Audio
