Tencent Music gearing up for huge IPO

China's largest music streaming company is preparing one of the biggest technology IPOs ever.

The move follows Spotify's successful IPO at the start of the month, which saw a market valuation of $26.6 billion on its first day of trading.

Sources familiar with the matter have indicated that Tencent Holdings Ltd. is planing interviews with potential underwriting banks over the next month or so, reports The Wall Street Journal.

It appears that the initial public offering will come in the second half of 2018 and could raise in the billions.

The final decision is unlikely to occur for a few months, but Tencent is expected to list in the US.

Sources say the business could be valued in excess of $25 billion at the offering, which was the company's reported value in recent private transactions, in a jump from its late 2017 valuation of $12.5 billion when Spotify bought a 9% stake.

French music group Vivendi has also reportedly looking at the possibility of listing Universal Music Group after Goldenman Sachs valued UMG at US$23.5 billion in August 2017.