December 2023 saw music streaming service Gaana, backed by Times Internet and Tencent, merge into Entertainment Network India Limited, a listed entity and Times Group company. This happened after the merger and acquisition talks between Gaana and Airtel Wynk were abortive.
Media reports pegged the deal at Rs 25 lakh for ENIL buying out Gaana as per its disclosure on the National Stock Exchange. Powered by Bennett Coleman, ENIL also operates FM radio brand ‘Radio Mirchi.’ Data from Entrackr showed Gaana picked up over $200 mn across all funding rounds and was valued at about $580 mn in its last valuation. The merger with ENIL would suggest that very little is now expected on its third-party acquisition. At this juncture, the exact stake that Tencent had in the 14-year-old platform is not known, and at present, very little is known about the deal.
It’s always been debt financing that Times Internet showered on Gaana. Now, the music streaming platform received Rs 100 crore in debt from Times Internet, which was converted into equity shares. According to the recent regulatory filings with the RoC, it is observed that Times Internet had promised to infuse up to Rs 10 crore more in debt into Gaana. Even ENIL’s CEO Yatish Mehershi said, “The company invested Rs 15 crore in Q1, FY25”.
