Time to get Sirius

Pandora shares off amid sale doubts

Pandora shares took a dive on Tuesday as investors seemed to view hopes that a deal with SiriusXM was diminishing by the hour.

Shares of the radio streamer tumbled 7.7 percent to $8.75.

Investors are focused on a Thursday deadline Pandora has set for itself to either conclude a sale with an outside party or accept new financing to boost its growth efforts.

Speaking at the Stifel media conference in San Francisco, Pandora CFO Naveen Chopra had little to say about any sale.

What Chopra did discuss was the imminent financing deal with KKR. The private equity firm will invest $150 million in Pandora.

That deal puts KKR’s Richard Sarnoff, the firm’s tech and media expert, on Pandor’as board.

Verizon is eyeing a similar type of investment in Pandora, The Post reported on Monday.

“The basic concept is following June 8, once closing conditions are met, we are contractually required to close the [KKR] deal,” Chopra said. “Prior to June 8, we do have the option to terminate in the event of an acquisition of the company.”

When asked if the firm would take a similar-sized investment from another party, Chopra responded: “We’d be looking for the same thing. Someone who could contribute real value, a strategic partnership, whether its KKR or someone else I could see either of those options. When we finalize we’ll talk more of the specifics.”

Meanwhile SiriusXM Chief Financial Officer David Frear was busy downplaying the likelihood of striking a Pandora deal.

Frear, speaking at a London conference, talked down any prospect of a combination, sources said. Sirius declined comment. Pandora CEO Tim Westergren appeared at a conference in New York on Tuesday and revealed that Pandora accounts for 40 percent of music listening on Amazon’s Echo speakers.