Tencent Music (TME) to be One of the Biggest IPOs in U.S. History

Chinese conglomerate Tencent (TCEHY), the world’s 5th largest technology company, has just filed for an IPO in the United States under their Tencent Music Entertainment Group subsidiary, which will trade as TME.

Tencent Holdings is currently established as the largest social media company in the world as well as the largest gaming company in the world, but sudden changes to Chinese video game regulation have curbed the sale of some of its most popular titles in China and have put Tencent on its heels.

The filing comes just a day after a press release from Tencent announcing plans to restructure, which, according to the release, would be the third major reorganization in the company’s 20-year history. Tencent representatives also stated that no significant layoffs were part of the restructuring plans.

The creation of new business divisions will increase Tencent’s focus on business clients and industrial services, and should help it to compete head-to-head with it’s rival, Alibaba (BABA).  

Tencent Music alone is reported to have over 800 million unique monthly active users, and its profits have grown exponentially in the last year, according to the filing, making it the largest and most profitable music streaming service in the world.  Some analysts posit that TME may be valued at well over $25 Billion when the IPO is priced.

Increased penetration in the U.S. markets may give Tencent the boost it needs to reverse the downward trend its stock has experienced lately in China.

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