RADIO ACTIVE TALK
SiriusXM stirring pot with possible Pandora bid
Liberty Media-backed SiriusXM is in active discussions about making a bid for internet radio company Pandora, The Post has learned.
The New York satellite radio company, which has shown on-andoff interest in the struggling streamer, has recently restarted talks with Pandora’s banks and is discussing the size of a potential offer, sources said.
The two sides have yet to agree on price, but one optimistic industry insider believes a bid could range as high as $12 to $13 a share. That price tag was immediately shot down by sources familiar with talks.
Liberty Chief Executive Greg Maffei has said in the past that he thinks Pandora is worth $10 per share. Shares of the Oakland, Calif.-based company shed 4.5 percent, closing at $8.93, but were up 8 percent to $9.65 in after-market trading.
Pandora, run by founder Tim Westergren, had hopes for continuing to run the streamer as a standalone company, but two activists — Matrix and Corvex — have pushed it to pursue a sale.
A possible sale time frame kicked off last week following the announcement of a $150 million investment by buyout firm KKR. That deal is expected to close in about 30 days.
The onetime internet radio leader has been working with Morgan Stanley and Centerview Partners to consider offers.
Despite an increasingly competitive environment and lack of profits in music streaming, Goldman Sachs analyst Heath Terry set a price target of $16 in a report on Wednesday.
“Given the high level of shareholder involvement and what we see as significant strategic value in Pandora’s user base, advertising inventory, data, and home screen position, we believe the likelihood of strategic action remains high,” Terry wrote.
Pandora reported 1.3 million trials of its on-demand products in the first quarter and a 6 percent uptick in revenue, to $316 million. Still, active listeners were 76.7 million, down from 79.4 million in the yearago period.
Last July, the Wall Street Journal reported that Maffei floated an offer for the company at $15 per share. Maffei knocked that down to $10 in March.