SoundCloud’s two main shareholders – Raine Group and Temasek Holdings – are preparing for a possible sale of the music service. Now the owners of the site are consulting with investment banks and assessing the asset, the value of which is approaching $1 billion, journalists note.
SoundCloud’s impressive valuation is due to the changes the company has undergone since 2017. Then the service, which had accumulated a fair amount of debt, was able to attract investments in the amount of $170 million from the Raine Group and Temasek Holdings, which became the main owners of the site.
The popular audio platform is looking for a new owner.
The investments helped the company solve financial and organizational problems and gradually move towards stable growth. At the same time, the platform has set a course for legal content, getting rid of unlicensed music and content that violates the copyrights of other artists. The company also began to develop services for musicians aimed at distributing and monetizing independent creativity.
It is noted that SoundCloud is in a profitable state and does not generate losses. This was partly possible thanks to a wave of layoffs that took place in August 2020, during which the company laid off 20% of its employees.
It is not known when exactly the owners plan to start selling. According to available information, Raine Group and Temasek Holdings plan to sell the asset during 2024. It is unknown whether the owners have a pool of buyers.
Founded in 2007, the SoundCloud music platform offers musicians tools to distribute and promote their music to a wide audience. According to the service, more than 40 million performers are registered on the site, who have published about 320 million compositions and audio files.
This was reported by Sky News.
