EMusic.com Inc, which sells music for download over the web, will acquire privately-held Tunes.com, a Chicago-based company which operates music sites RollingStone.com and DownBeatJazz.com. The all-stock deal is valued at roughly $130m, based on EMusic’s closing price before the deal was announced Tuesday. The deal is expected to close next quarter.
Redwood City, California-based EMusic claims the combined company will be one of the web’s most frequently-visited networks of music-oriented sites, serving more than 35 million page-views and roughly 1.5 million unique visitors per month. The company will integrate the newly-acquired sites’ content, news and reviews with its download store.
EMusic said it will issue approximately 9 million shares of its common stock for all outstanding shares of Tunes.com capital stock. In addition, it will assume all of the outstanding options to purchase Tunes.com stock, which will be converted into the right to purchase about 1.6 million shares of EMusic common stock.
