Pandora Rejects Liberty - Pollstar News

Despite the struggles of surviving as an independent music streaming service in 2016, Pandora has reportedly refused a $15-per-share buyout from Liberty Media Corp.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the CEO of Liberty, Greg Maffei, made an offer to purchase the company for about $3.4 billion earlier in the year. When asked at a meeting in June why a deal hadn’t gone through, the Journal reported that Maffei responded, “You’d have to ask the Pandora board.”

Pandora’s stock was valued as high as $40 a share in 2014, but the company now trades around $12 per share and hired Morgan Stanley in February, reportedly to evaluate its sale options.

Pandora purchased competitor Rdio and startup Ticketfly to develop what founder and recently appointed CEO Tim Westergren calls “a complete music marketplace,” but those tactics are yet to restore the company to its former streaming dominance.

Maffei is also on the board of directors of Live Nation, of which Liberty Media owns a minority stake. Pandora is reportedly holding out on any potential sales until it receives bigger offers.