SiriusXM is in early-stage discussions to acquire iHeartMedia, a deal that would create an audio giant with a foothold in traditional and satellite radio and podcasts, two people familiar with the discussions said Friday.
Should a deal come to fruition, it would be the culmination of years of speculation about a tie-up. Liberty SiriusXM Group, an affiliate of John Malone’s media empire, once held significant stakes in both companies. But it eventually sold its stake in iHeartMedia and split off its ownership of SiriusXM into a separate company.
The talks are still in their early stages and may not result in a deal, the people said, requesting anonymity because the conversations are confidential. SiriusXM and iHeartMedia declined to comment. Bloomberg News reported the discussions earlier.
Both companies primarily make their money in traditional broadcast radio and satellite subscriptions. IHeartMedia says it owns more than 860 radio stations across the United States. Sirius says it had around 33 million subscribers as of last year.
The companies have complementary businesses, which could make the deal attractive to investors.
Both SiriusXM and iHeartMedia have sizable audio advertising businesses and relationships with music labels, and both have begun to expand in podcasting. SiriusXM has hit shows like Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” and “SmartLess,” while iHeartMedia’s push into podcasts includes “Las Culturistas” and “Stuff You Should Know.”
The deal could also help offset the deterioration of traditional radio businesses. Though SiriusXM has lost more than a million customers since 2022, it has started to regain them, according to MoffettNathanson, a research firm.
Shares of iHeartMedia were up 35 percent at the close of trading on Friday, while shares of Sirius were down around 5 percent.
In the event of a deal, the combined company’s grip on traditional and satellite radio could come under scrutiny from antitrust regulators. But executives may argue that the tie-up would provide a necessary counterweight to Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube, digital giants that dominate smartphone music consumption, one of the people said.
Antitrust officials under President Trump have been more amenable to mergers than those under the Biden administration, and some companies have been looking to capitalize on that by placing bets on big deals.
- Credits: The New York Times
- Authors: Lauren Hirsch and Benjamin Mullin
- Photo: Amy Lombard
