SiriusXM to Pay $480 Million to Buy 19% of Pandora’s Common Shares

SiriusXM will pay $480 million to buy 19 percent of Pandora’s outstanding common shares, SiriusXM said in a Friday announcement. Under the deal, which will land SiriusXM three seats on the Pandora board, including that of chairman, SiriusXM is making a “strategic investment” in Pandora that's “a unique opportunity” to enter “the ad-supported digital radio business, a space where SiriusXM does not play today,” said CEO Jim Meyer in a statement. “Pandora's large user base and its ability to provide listeners with a personalized music experience are tremendous assets.” Nearly two years ago, senior SiriusXM executives told investors not to expect the company to enter the streaming audio marketplace anytime soon (see 1507280011). With a strategic review complete, Pandora said it's selling Ticketfly to Eventbrite for $200 million in a deal to close next quarter that's expected to include a deal letting the streaming radio service "substantially broaden the scale of its ticketing opportunities."