STOCKHOLM, March 13 (Reuters) - Hip-hop star Jay-Z's bid for Scandinavia music streamer Aspiro IRX.ST has succeeded after owners representing more than 90 percent of shares in the Swedish-listed firm accepted the $54 million offer.
A spokesman for Project Panther Bidco, a company controlled by the 45-year-old rapper, said on Friday all the conditions for completing the acquisition of Aspiro had now been fulfilled.
The acquisition by Jay-Z, one of the world's best-selling music artists of all time, adds to a business empire that has spanned clothing and sports bars. Married to pop star Beyonce, Jay-Z has had a number of business interests, including 40/40 Club sports bars and Rocawear clothing.
His mix of music and entrepeneurial interests mirrors that of other rappers, including De Dre, who sold his Beats headphones business to Apple AAPL.O , and 50 Cent, who sold his vitamin water business to Coca-Cola K.N .
Panther Bidco said in January it had agreed to buy Aspiro, which runs music streaming service WiMP, for 464 million Swedish crowns ($54 million) in cash. ID:nL6N0V91IR
Panther Bidco declared the offer unconditional on Friday and will initiate the compulsory purchase of the remaining Aspiro shares, as well as delisting the company from Nasdaq Stockholm.
Norwegian media house Schibsted SBST.OL said it would book a sales gain of about 200 million Norwegian crowns ($25 million) in the first quarter of 2015 from the sale of all its shares in Apsiro to Panther Bidco. ID:nASN0006XG ($1 = 8.6230 Swedish crowns) ($1 = 8.1390 Norwegian crowns)