Yahoo! to buy Musicmatch for 160 million

September 14, 2004

Yahoo! the very popular Internet portal has made a move to purchase privately held Musicmatch. The deal, amounting to some 160 million in cash, in a deal which will supplement the offerings of Launch, Yahoo's digital music site.

Privately held Musicmatch, based in San Diego, offers a jukebox software program that allows users to download and manage songs, and an online radio network and music store. The company recently introduced a subscription service which includes file sharing technology.
"Yahoo is committed to being a major player in digital music," said chairman and chief executive Terry Semel in a statement. "This combination bolsters our strategy to capture the largest audience of consumers as they make the shift to digital music."
Yahoo estimates the acquisition will increase its online listeners by 12.9 million to about 23 million listeners, based on figured from a Nielsen//NetRatings survey last month. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter, pending regulatory approval.