Jay-Z's Aspiro Bid Blocked By Minority Shareholders

That bid Jay Z made earlier this year on Aspiro, a music streaming company best known as being behind Tidal, has been blocked by the company's minority shareholders. These minority shareholders own 10-percent of Aspiro, and they're blocking the bid — at least according to some — despite the company's board of directors having given the bid a thumbs up. The block is said to have been done on the advice of Aktiespararna, an equity association.

The information comes from the Swedish newspaper Dagens Industri, which is reporting that the minority shareholders are moving to block the deal from Project Panther Bidco, the Jay-z-controlled holding company looking to nab Aspiro. The reason for the block is said to be concerns about the funds Project Panther will be bringing to the table for expansion, among other things.

The timeframe for accepting the bid ends on March 11 (the offer was made back in January), but before then the minitority shareholders are said to be looking to open talks for what they consider more agreeable deal terms. Specifics on what those are weren't detailed, but according to a statement from Aspiro's independent board committee's chairman, the original (and still current) deal is "attractive" the way it is.

Said Chairman Fredrik Bjorland in a long statement to the folks at The Next Web:

We still believe the offer is attractive for both the company and its shareholders, and recommend the offer based on this ... Aktiespararna's recommendation to not accept the offer is primarily based on an argument that more than 10% will reject the offer and a potentially raised bid by Project Panther. This is a bit surprising, as to my experience, we have neither a confirmation that more than 10% will reject the offer (as we are still within the acceptance period until March 11th) nor that Project Panther is willing to raise its bid or engage in direct negotiations with the minority shareholders.

SOURCE: The Next Web