It’s a done deal.
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. has confirmed today (February 1) that is has completed its acquisition of Pandora Media.
With the transaction complete, SiriusXM says it is now “the world’s largest audio entertainment company” with “strong, long-term growth opportunities”.
Jim Meyer, Chief Executive Officer of SiriusXM – which is majority owned by Liberty Media – said, “This is a tremendous outcome for two organizations with complementary platforms and large audiences, and we could not be more excited to be moving forward as one company. With SiriusXM’s subscription-based national service of curated and exclusive content and programming, and Pandora, the largest U.S. streaming music provider with its highly personalized free ad-supported service, under one roof, SiriusXM now reaches more than 100 million people across its audio products. That is a powerful platform for consumers, content creators and advertisers.”
Meyer continued, “Importantly, the premier products that SiriusXM and Pandora listeners have enjoyed for years are not changing. That said, good things come from being together, and we look forward to creating new unique audio packages that combine our strengths and offer an even wider range of content to our listeners. On behalf of everyone at SiriusXM, we are excited to officially welcome the talented Pandora team and look forward to working with all of our employees to continue delivering the best audio entertainment experience in the world and creating enhanced value for stockholders.”
Sirius says that the merged companies will capatalize on cross-promotion opportunities across more than 100 million combined listeners in North America.
Between them, SiriusXM and Pandora boast close to 40 million self-paying subscribers, and 75 million trialers and ad-based listeners, which, says Sirius, represents the largest digital audio entertainment audience in the U.S.
The outstanding shares in Pandora not already owned by SiriusXM will be exchanged for a fixed ratio of 1.44 newly issued SiriusXM shares.
The tenure of Pandora CEO Roger Lynch is now at an end, with Meyer taking over management of the music streaming service.
Shares of Pandora’s common stock are no longer trading on the New York Stock Exchange.Music Business Worldwide
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