Spotify Closes $526 Million Funding Round To Fight Apple

Timing, particularly in the entertainment industry, is everything. So, it is no coincidence that right after Apple Music launches, Spotify just happens to close a $526 million round that has been an open secret since April.

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Just 2 days after Apple launched its own music streaming service, Spotify has closed a $526 million funding round at a whopping $8.2 – $8.53 billion valuation.

Among the lead investors is TeliaSonera, the top mobile carrier in Sweden, who announced it has invested $115 million for a 1.4% stake in the company. A joint TeliaSonera-Spotify team is being created to launch special projects together.

Other investors in the new round include Baillie Gifford, Landsdowne Partners and Rinkelberg Capital; Senvest Capital and Discovery Capital Management, Halcyon Asset Management, GSV Capital, D.E. Shaw & Co., Technology Crossover Ventures, Northzone and P. Schoenfeld Asset Management.

Goldman Sachs, who raised this round for Spotify, also invested through its Global Private Opportunity Partners fund, according to the Wall Street Journal. The WSJ and TechCrunch disagree as the whether or not Abu Dhabi’s sovereign-wealth fund also paritcipated.