*By Kavitha Shastry*
Shares of Pandora ($P) soared early Monday after news that satellite radio provider SiriusXM ($SIRI) is buying the company for $3.5 billion.
The all-stock deal represents more than an 11 percent premium to where Pandora shares closed on Friday and brings to an end a long-running will-they-won't-they courtship between the two companies.
Sirius, which reportedly made an offer to acquire Pandora last year but was rebuffed, ultimately invested $480 million in the company, buying preferred stock for a 15 percent stake.
The music streaming service, a pioneer in the industry, has struggled to keep up with competition like Spotify ($SPOT) and Apple Music ($AAPL). In its last earnings report it said it had six million paying subscribers, compared to 83 million for Spotify and an estimated 50 million for Apple.
For Sirius, whose strength is in its car radio business, Pandora represents access to a new user base, albeit a relatively small one.
"This is Sirius recognizing that long term, they need to figure out the internet and this is the best solution," said Rich Greenfield, media and tech analyst at BTIG.
Under CEO Roger Lynch ー who took over the top spot last September, about three months after founder Tim Westergren resigned and just around the time the Sirius investment closed ー Pandora acquired audio adtech company AdsWizz, to deliver more targeted ads and a more personalized experience. The company also teamed up with Snap to allow Snapchat users to share songs seamlessly, even if they didn't subscribe to the same music services.
"We're trying to make \[music\] a lot more social," Lynch said in an interview with Cheddar at the Mobile World Congress earlier this month.
Shares of Pandora fell to an all-time low just over $4 in January, but have risen more than 120 percent since through Friday's close.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/siriusxm-acquiring-pandora-for-3-5-billion).
With an increasing demand for mental health services, one person wanted to change the therapy game. In 2017, CEO Alex Katz founded Two Chairs, a company that uses technology to match patients with the right therapist.
Not only is April Financial Literacy Month, it’s also the kickoff of the spring homebuying season. So now is the time to make sure you have a financial plan in place – and why it might not be wise for that to include buying your first home.
While the U.S. may slowly be on the path to lowering inflation (and therefore interest rates), Europe has thoroughly trounced America, putting it on the path to lower rates by this summer.
April's release of the monthly Housing Starts and Building Permits reports by the Census Bureau provides crucial insights into the construction activity in the housing market. These reports are an economic indicator, shedding light on the current state of the housing market and its broader economic impact.
Caitlin Clark is heading to the Indiana Fever, the number one draft pick and the highest-scoring college basketball player of all time. And while she may not be getting millions from the WNBA, there's a few ways she'll net compensation for her generational talents.
Author of 'Clean Meat,' Paul Shapiro joins Cheddar to discuss how the cellular agricultural revolution helps lower rates of foodborne illness and greatly improves environmental sustainability. Plus, how his company The Better Meat Co. is bringing healthier food options to the table.
Recent headlines might make it sound like World War III is imminent, but when it comes to your finances, it's not the time to panic. The market is coming off its longest winning streak since 2011.
You may have noticed fewer new venture capital-backed startups (like Airbnb or Uber) lately. The market slowed to a crawl after 2021, but things are expected to take off again in 2025.
Corporate earnings season is underway, that time when companies share their billions in sales or double-digit profits. But the data shows even companies are struggling with high inflation and interest rates.
Boeing continues their terrifying trend of having their planes fall apart mid-flight, inflation — checks notes — is still up and the future of AI looks terrifying. Cheery!
