Jay Z Bids for a Sweedish Streaming Company to Expand his Empire

Jay Z

Jay Z, the rap star and entrepreneur, has made a $56 million offer for the Sweedish company Aspiro, the owner of two digital music services, in a deal that would give him a foothold in the rapidly expanding world of streaming music and put him in competition with major players like Apple and Spotify.

The bid, made through a company called Project Panther, which Jay Z indirectly controls, was revealed in a statement early Friday by Aspiro, which is publicly traded in Sweden. According to the statement, Jay Z’s offer — representing a 59 percent premium over the stock’s closing price on Thursday — has already received preliminary acceptance by Aspiro’s board.

Aspiro’s two services, WiMP and Tidal, have so far been fringe outlets in the growing field of subscription music. Spotify, Deezer, Rdio, Rhapsody and even YouTube now compete to sign up paying customers by offering on-demand access to millions of songs online. Last year, Apple paid $3 billion for Beats, the company founded by Dr. Dre and the music executive Jimmy Iovine, and it is expected to revamp its music offerings, with streaming playing a prominent role.

Jay Z's plans for Aspiro's services is still unclear, although, in a statement, a spokeswoman for the rapper and his company gave some insight into his thinking, saying that the shift to streaming, offers great potential for increased entertainment consumption and a great opportunity for artists to further promote their music.

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