Singaporean billionaire’s son just bought a huge stake in Rolling Stone

BandLab Technologies, a Singapore-based startup owned by a billionaire’s son that lets music creators collaborate online with other musicians as well as fans, has bought a 49 percent stake in Rolling Stone, a print and online magazine focusing on music and popular culture. It claims to have 22 million monthly users in the US.

The sum of the acquisition wasn’t disclosed in the press release. BandLab was founded by Kuok Meng Ru, the 28-year-old third son of Singapore-based agriculture magnate Kuok Khoon Hong. Post the acquisition, BandLab won’t be involved in editorial operations, according to Bloomberg. Rather, it will create a new subsidiary called Rolling International, which will “develop live events, merchandising and hospitality” around the world.

Rolling Stone, owned by magazine publisher Wenner Media, grew its average monthly unique visitors in H1 2016 for RollingStone.com by 40 percent compared to the same time last year.

Meng Ru has made a series of buyouts in the music business. In 2012, he acquired Swee Lee Music, a 70 year-old retailer and wholesaler of musical instruments. He also bought Composr, a music-making app for iOS and web, as well as Mono Creators, a San Francisco based company producing instrument cases and accessories.