SiriusXM Buys Pandora for $3.5 Billion

cageymaru

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SiriusXM has purchased Pandora for approximately $3.5 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019 after approval by Pandora stockholders or any applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. SiriusXM wanted to expand beyond the car and into the home; thus the purchase of Pandora fits their vision. The combined company will be able to create new advertising revenue streams from SiriusXM's 36 million customers and Pandora's 70 million monthly active customers which represents the largest digital audio audience in the U.S..

Pursuant to the agreement, the owners of the outstanding shares in Pandora that SiriusXM does not currently own will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 1.44 newly issued SiriusXM shares for each share of Pandora they hold. Based on the 30-day volume-weighted average price of $7.04 per share of SiriusXM common stock, the implied price of Pandora common stock is $10.14 per share, representing a premium of 13.8% over a 30-day volume-weighted average price. The transaction is expected to be tax-free to Pandora stockholders. SiriusXM currently owns convertible preferred stock in Pandora that represents a stake of approximately 15% on an as-converted basis.
 
I would have never thought that Sirius XM is popular enough to be making enough money to be making purchases like this. Only time I ever used Sirius was a 33 month free trial when I bought a car and never signed up for the service. With Pandora and Spotify I don't see how satellite radio is still relevant.
 
Maybe SiriusXM will now stop looping the same old tired 4 hours of music on each of their channels. The sound quality is also abysmal, like 128kb over compressed mp3's. It can be mildly entertaining, but I mainly use Spotify when in the car. It's easy to get SiriusXM for $5/mo; it sometimes takes a couple of calls. NEVER pay full price for SiriusXM.
 
I would have never thought that Sirius XM is popular enough to be making enough money to be making purchases like this. Only time I ever used Sirius was a 33 month free trial when I bought a car and never signed up for the service. With Pandora and Spotify I don't see how satellite radio is still relevant.
Guessing you meant 3 months. Yeah I got 6 months of free XM when I brought a car in 2014. After it expired they wouldn't stop the emails, phone calls and letter to sign up. It took several attempts to finally to get them to stop. I did get $100 from a class action lawsuits I didn't even know I was apart of over it tho.
 
Maybe SiriusXM's mobile app won't suck so much now. Always has difficulty maintaining a stream, unlike Pandora or Spotify
 
I loved Pandora when it first came out. Was a subscriber for years. I let my sub drop this year though. It got to the point where all of my channels were just looping the same songs. Even as I would seed new artists and songs it just didn’t have a big enough catalog to keep from getting stale.

I’m learning Spotify - I miss the channels I had built up over years on Pandora but at least now I’m hearing something new on occasion.
 
Also predicting this sale will be pretty much just like Napster. Someone way overpaid on a name that was popular at one time but has been on the decline for years.

They (almost) never come back to life.
 
I loved Pandora when it first came out. Was a subscriber for years. I let my sub drop this year though. It got to the point where all of my channels were just looping the same songs. Even as I would seed new artists and songs it just didn’t have a big enough catalog to keep from getting stale.

I’m learning Spotify - I miss the channels I had built up over years on Pandora but at least now I’m hearing something new on occasion.

Spotify allows you to make "radio stations". The key is to liking and disliking the music that is playing so that it can better learn your taste and suggest new artists. Does a really nice job of it!
 
I never liked Pandora due to the fact you could not actually pick the song/album you wanted to hear. Is this still the case?
 
Its too bad sirius isn't more reasonable with the price or I would have kept it after my free trials. Sure $10.99 is fair... unless you want streaming in your home, that is +$4... Oh you have more then 1 car under your name? Well thats $10.99 each car. Your cars have nav? That will be +$5 each car too. I have 3 cars and the total would be between $40 (for the basic music plan/65 stations) and about $100 for all access + nav. Compaired to $9.99 for google/apple music +free google maps and if I really wanted sports, I can play it through my phone also for free. Also, with android auto/apple car play everything intergrates onto the display so no fumbling around with the phone needed.
 
I still have sirius. The trick is to always tell them you want to pay less and try to cancel for a good deal.
 
Well, so much for my Pandora subscription. I use Pithos for a clean player on my linux PCs.
It has features the Pandora android players don't have. I tried Spotify once and just didn't like it. Didn't like the interface, and the selection (at the time) of the kind mood music I like on but they were heavy and pushy on the garbage that passes for music now a days.
 
My problem with Pandora is it gets stuck on a genre. It will play 10 reggae songs in a row after skipping each one, then move on the country, then old rock. I know I can make multiple stations, but I have a mix because I want a mix, not Sheryl Crow, followed by Natalie Merchant, followed by 10,000 maniacs, followed by Natalie Merchant, followed by Jewel
 
Guessing you meant 3 months. Yeah I got 6 months of free XM when I brought a car in 2014. After it expired they wouldn't stop the emails, phone calls and letter to sign up. It took several attempts to finally to get them to stop. I did get $100 from a class action lawsuits I didn't even know I was apart of over it tho.

I got a 3 month trial with a used car and a 2 year trial with a new car. I keep canceling the old one and starting again for $5 a month. It just gets old. It gets to the point where you can guess what they are going to play next. Their music lineup sucks. Too repetitive. When you start out, it's great. After a month, it's just too much. Even the rock music stations start sounding like a Top 40 with the same music played every couple hours.
 
Pandora users, be prepared to threaten to discontinue your service every 4 months. I've become a pro at that.
 
I am more surprised that SiriusXM actually had money to buy somebody. Was somebody hiding that in their couch and found it while cleaning?

I use Pandora's free service every now and then which I have found to be fine. Haven't used it much in the past few years since my work issued car doesn't have an AUX jack and that is what I normally drive so just listen to the radio instead. Personally I like having it pull random songs from the band or similar to them as it has allowed me to find other music that I wouldn't have heard otherwise.
 
Its too bad sirius isn't more reasonable with the price or I would have kept it after my free trials. Sure $10.99 is fair... unless you want streaming in your home, that is +$4... Oh you have more then 1 car under your name? Well thats $10.99 each car. Your cars have nav? That will be +$5 each car too. I have 3 cars and the total would be between $40 (for the basic music plan/65 stations) and about $100 for all access + nav. Compaired to $9.99 for google/apple music +free google maps and if I really wanted sports, I can play it through my phone also for free. Also, with android auto/apple car play everything intergrates onto the display so no fumbling around with the phone needed.

My wife almost signed up on one of the promos they send you about 2 months after your (trial) subscription ends, but on the last page of the signup, a "music royalty fee" showed up, and she was like WTF and noped out. We've had it in three cars, but the reception in the SF Bay Area is terrible, it would cut out when there were clear skies, I dunno.
 
I mean, SiriusXM is only still around because of Howard Stern, no?

I didn't know the guy was still relevant. Probably sports and some music. Although I'd be interested in Stern's audience numbers. I've never been a fan, but I remember when he was big because of his shock value.
 
I use Sirius XM and only pay $4 a month + the hassle of making a calendar reminder to call and avoid the auto renewal price of $15.99. I listen to Octane, and they are good about putting new content in the lineup all the time.


--edit--
Forgot to add that I only renew once every 6 months.
 
I use Sirius XM and only pay $4 a month + the hassle of making a calendar reminder to call and avoid the auto renewal price of $15.99. I listen to Octane, and they are good about putting new content in the lineup all the time.


--edit--
Forgot to add that I only renew once every 6 months.

This is basically what I do as well. I listen to the rock and metal stations along with sports and comedy. It's worth the $30 I have to pay every 5 months. At this point I don't even let them go into their sales schtick on the phone. I just tell them that I want my 30 for 5 deal and that I will cancel otherwise. Unless I get India or the Philippines, they tend to bypass the script and just give it to me.
 
Kmart buying Sears - history repeating itself. Pandora's shareholders are dancing in the streets.
 
I use Sirius XM and only pay $4 a month + the hassle of making a calendar reminder to call and avoid the auto renewal price of $15.99. I listen to Octane, and they are good about putting new content in the lineup all the time.


--edit--
Forgot to add that I only renew once every 6 months.

I only listen to Octane as well and they do a much better job of finding music I like then I do. I do call to cancel once every six months to get the $60 for six months of All Access (I like the online streaming). I think I spent 10 minutes on the phone this last time and almost all of that was the lady getting everything setup. She lowered my current price some without me even asking. I wish the cable company was that easy to work with.
 
I only listen to Octane as well and they do a much better job of finding music I like then I do. I do call to cancel once every six months to get the $60 for six months of All Access (I like the online streaming). I think I spent 10 minutes on the phone this last time and almost all of that was the lady getting everything setup. She lowered my current price some without me even asking. I wish the cable company was that easy to work with.

Yep, Octane fucking rocks. I'm coming up on renewal in two weeks and I'll be making the usual call to get a lower price.
 
When you call, try this number. 1-888-601-6302 I have added that to my calendar reminder because it is a direct line to the no-bullshit department. I was on the call less than 5 minutes last time.
 
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