Sirius Reapproaches Pandora for a Takeover

Satellite radio company Sirius XM Holdings Inc.'s Chairman Greg Maffei recently made a fresh approach to internet radio provider Pandora Media Inc. and expressed interest about a potential takeover, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Sirius XM did not offer a specific price and Pandora has yet to respond to the overture, the source added.

Representatives and Sirius XM declined to comment.

Bloomberg first reported the new approach on Friday. The report noted that earlier this year, Sirius offered about $15 per share to buy Pandora.

Earlier on Friday, CNBC reported that Pandora is now open to selling itself and willing to engage with Sirius XM.

However, a separate source close to the matter told Reuters that Pandora is currently making no renewed effort to sell itself.

Pandora faces stiff competition from services such as Sweden's Spotify, Apple Inc.'s Apple Music, Google's Play Music and Amazon.com Inc.'s Amazon Music Unlimited, which dominate the on-demand music service market.

An acquisition by Sirius XM would help give Pandora a bigger foothold in cars and also allow Sirius XM to expand its Internet and mobile presence.

Pandora, which has a model more like an internet radio station that plays songs matching a genre without allowing users to make selections, is set to unveil an on-demand music streaming service in December, as it looks to move beyond its roots.

The company said in October that it has seen a decline in its active users of the service.

Pandora has been urged to explore a sale by Corvex Management LP, a hedge fund run by Keith Meister, a protégé of activist investor Carl Icahn, after it disclosed a 9.9 percent stake in Pandora in May.

The company earlier offered itself to potential buyers including Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., the Wall Street Journal had reported in July.

(Reporting by Liana B. Baker in San Francisco and Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York)