Bloomberg reports today that iHeartMedia has begun preliminary merger talks with SiriusXM.
The deal would see Liberty Media owned SiriusXM acquire iHeart to bring together the largest broadcast station operator and the satellite powerhouse. A deal now would be centered on creating a podcasting juggernaut as SiriusXM is the top podcast distributor by reach and iHeart is currently third.
It isn’t the first time a possible combination of the two audio behemoths was proposed as during iHeart’s 2018 bankruptcy restructuring, Liberty sought to acquire 40% of iHeart and was its largest single shareholder post-restructuring until selling its final 5,941,248 shares for over $150 million in October 2021.
Bloomberg notes that the talks are preliminary and that there’s no guarantee a deal will happen. Talks of iHeart shopping itself were the buzz in some circles at this week’s NAB Show where we heard of a few other companies sniffing around the company.
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The Hollywood Reporter is mentioning Irving Azoff and Apollo Global Management as the potential buyers.
They are advising the companies on the deal, not the potential buyers.