TECH

Tencent Wins Regulatory Approval to Acquire Audio Platform Ximalaya

Published: May. 13, 2026 7:17 p.m. GMT+8

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Ximalaya will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Tencent Music Entertainment Group. Photo: VCG

Tencent Holdings Ltd. has secured conditional approval to acquire online audio platform Ximalaya, a move that could help the tech giant expand its library of content to attract more paying users.

The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) on Tuesday cleared the deal which makes Ximalaya a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tencent Music Entertainment Group, but imposed five conditions to ensure fair competition in the online audio and music market, according to an announcement by the regulator.

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SAMR conditionally approved Tencent Music's $2.4B acquisition of Ximalaya, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary.
Conditions: no fee hikes, maintain free content share, ban exclusives/bundling/preventing creators from rivals.
Ximalaya has 25% revenue market share (2023); Tencent faces ByteDance competition.

AI generated, for reference only

Who’s Who

Tencent Holdings Ltd.: Tencent Holdings Ltd. secured conditional SAMR approval for Tencent Music Entertainment Group to acquire Ximalaya for $2.4B, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary. Conditions: no fee hikes, maintain free content share, ban exclusive copyrights, no carmaker bundling, and no blocking creators from rivals. Builds on 2021 Lanren Tingshu buy amid ByteDance competition.

Ximalaya: Ximalaya is China's largest online audio platform, launched in 2013, with a 25% market share by revenue in 2023. It specializes in long-form audiobooks and podcasts. Tencent Music Entertainment Group received conditional SAMR approval to acquire it for $2.4 billion, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary, amid competition from ByteDance and monetization challenges that stalled its IPO attempts.

Tencent Music Entertainment Group: Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME) secured conditional SAMR approval to acquire Ximalaya for $2.4B, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary. Conditions: no fee hikes, maintain free content share, ban exclusive copyrights, no service bundling for carmakers, and no blocking creators from rivals. Aims to boost long-form audio amid competition.

Lanren Tingshu: Tencent bought audiobook platform Lanren Tingshu for 2.7 billion yuan ($397 million) in 2021 to expand into the online long-form audio market.

ByteDance Ltd.: ByteDance Ltd. launched an audiobook app, Fanqie Changting, in June 2020, which had more than 100 million monthly active users in February.

China Insights Consultancy: China Insights Consultancy reported that Ximalaya holds a 25% market share by revenue in China's online audio platform market in 2023.

AI generated, for reference only