SiriusXM buys Pandora in a $3.5 billion deal

The deal will create the world’s largest audio entertainment company, the companies said in a recent statement. SiriusXM currently has 36 million subscribers in North America. It was formed with the merger of the Sirius and XM satellite radio services in 2008.
Pandora, a streaming music service with extraordinary success was founded in 2000, has more than 70 million active users. It faces intense competition from Spotify, from music services offered by Apple and Amazon, and from Jay-Z’s Tidal, partly owned by Sprint.
Pandora’s ability to remain an independent entity was very much in doubt. SiriusXM had already invested $480 million to buy 19% of Pandora’s stock last year, and it was widely reported to be looking at a full purchase.
“We believe there are significant opportunities to create value for both companies’ stockholders by combining our complementary businesses,” SiriusXM CEO Jim Meyer said in a statement.