Australian music streaming service Guvera says its expansion into the booming mobile phone market of India gives it an edge against the likes of Spotify.
Guvera is planning to list on the share market as it works to cement its spot in the booming, yet highly competitive digital music industry, which has had several high profile casualties in recent months.
Retailer JB Hi-Fi shut down its five-year digital music streaming venture in March after struggling to compete with Spotify and Apple Music, while US company Rdio filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in late 2015.
Guvera says it currently has more than 14 million users across 10 countries, with half of those in India, where it claims to be the first international streaming platform to enter the digital music market.
Its customer base in India jumped from 1.7 million in January 2015 to seven million just four months later.
Guvera's revenue comes primarily from advertisers, as its main product is a free music service that includes targeted branded content.
It said India has the fastest growing mobile advertising volumes in the world, giving the company plenty of scope to increase revenue.
"Guvera is the best positioned music company to take advantage of this mobile advertising explosion," chairman Phil Quartararo said in the company's prospectus.
Guvera plans to raise up to $100 million for further expansion in India, plus other markets including Indonesia, the Philippines and Australia, with its share market float.
The Gold Coast based company is offering 80 million shares at $1.00 each, with an option to accept demand for an additional 20 million shares if oversubscribed.
The company expects to list in mid-July, with a market value of about $588 million.
Guvera was founded in 2008 in response to an explosion in illegal music downloads, and officially launched as a digital music platform in 2010.
AMMA Private Equity has agreed to underwrite $10 million of the funds raised under the offer, conditional on Guvera raising $30 million.
