Minority Shareholders Shift, Approve Jay Z Acquisition Of Aspiro’s Streaming Music Services
It looks like Jay Z really is going to get into the streaming music business with a $56 million purchase of Aspiro, the Scandinavian company that owns WiMP and its hi-def audio cousin Tidal.
A group of 120 shareholders that were blocking Jay Z's acquisition of Aspiro and its WiMP and Tidal streaming music services have dropped their objections, clearing the way for a sale. " “We have together with the major shareholders decided that it is best to accept the bid,” the leaders of the shareholders block said in a statement.
This should clear the way for Project Panther Bidco, the investment group led by Jay Z, to take control of the company within the next few weeks.
WiMP is already a competitor of Spotify's in Scandinavia and elsewhere in Europe. The company launched its hi-def offshoot Tidal in the US, UK and Canada late last year. As of late October 2014, WiMP had 512,000 paying subscribers globally including 20,000 who pay $20 per moth for hi-def Tidal.
