Pandora sale to SiriusXM approved
January 30, 2019
By Chris Forrester
Pandora stockholders have approved the sale of their music business to pay-radio service SiriusXM in a $3.5 billion deal. But Pandora’s CEO Roger Lynch will leave once the deal wraps. Lynch joined in September 2017, from Echostar.
Some 97 per cent of the Pandora votes cast were in favour of the sale.
In a note to investors, Pandora said: “The transaction is expected to close shortly, subject to customary closing conditions. Assuming completion of the transaction, shares of Pandora common stock are expected to be delisted from trading on the New York Stock Exchange. As a result of the transaction, among other things, each share of Pandora common stock will be converted into 1.44 newly issued shares of Sirius XM common stock. Sirius XM common stock will continue to trade under the existing ticker symbol “SIRI” on the Nasdaq.
Separately, SiriusXM announced it had set aside $2 billion in order to purchase its own shares, and means that SiriusXM will then have used some $14 billion in its share repurchase plan.