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Pandora ‘to sell Ticketfly’, focus on streaming

Reports suggest Pandora Media, itself believed to be on the market, is to offload its strong-performing ticketing business in favour of a renewed focus on music streaming

By IQ on 16 May 2017

Tim Westergren, Pandora Media, Ticketfly

Pandora CEO Tim Westergren


image © Thomas Hawk

Pandora Media is reportedly seeking to offload Ticketfly less than two years after it bought the ticketing platform for US$450 million.

Despite delivering growth of 25% in its full year under Pandora ownership, Bloomberg suggests Ticketfly, acquired in October 2015, is now on the chopping block as the company seeks to concentrate on its music-streaming business.

Pandora, which last week restructured its board and welcomed $150m in new investment from private-equity firm KKR, is rumoured to be seeking a buyer for the entire company amid ever-increasing losses ($132.3m in Q1 2017) and a tumbling stock price.

According to Bloomberg, several Pandora investors, including hedge fund Corvex Management, have questioned Pandora’s growth strategy and its foray into ticketing, which in the US is dominated by Live Nation’s Ticketmaster.

Pandora last July rejected a takeover offer by Greg Maffei’s Liberty Media, which owns roughly a third of Live Nation. Reports suggested its board felt the company was worth closer to $20 per share, rather than the $15 offered by Liberty; today it is $9.72. The New York Post suggested yesterday the deal is back on.

 


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