Liberty Media Still Interested in iHeartMedia Deal

RADIO ONLINE | Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Liberty Media

Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei said in conference call to discuss the company's and SiriusXM first quarter earnings said that it is still interested in acquiring iHeartMedia. In February the company offered a term sheet to inject $1.16 billion in cash into the radio giant and its 850 radio outlets in return for 40% stake in the reorganized company following a bankruptcy filing. "iHeart is an attractive free-cash flow generator," he said. "At the right price, I think it would be additive to our music holdings."

Liberty Media, owns 70.6% of Sirius XM, has purchased $660 million in iHeart bonds to-date. It also invested $480 million in the streaming service Pandora. Speaking to Variety, Maffei said, "Each of these businesses has attractive qualities... There could be some synergies around the cost side or around technologies or around interaction between free and pay. I think all float on their own bottom and do well. But we may find ways to have them work together."

Meanwhile, SiriusXM first quarter total subscribers surpassed 33 million for first time. There were a total of 330,000 net subscriber additions during Q1. Revenue climbed 6% to $1.4 billion from $1.29 billion, while the satcaster posted net income growth of 40% to $289 million. Operating cash flow climbed 34% to $415 million.