Move gives SiriusXM a 19% stake in the streaming music service.
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SiriusXM announced Friday it reached a deal with Pandora to invest $480 million in cash in the streaming music service.
Under the terms of the deal, SiriusXM will purchase an aggregate of $480 million in Series A preferred stock, representing a 19% stake of common stock.
SiriusXM will also earn three seats on Pandora’s board of directors.
“Pandora’s large user base and its ability to provide listeners with a personalized music experience are tremendous assets, ” said SiriusXM CEO Jim Meyer in a statement.
Shares of Pandora are up nearly 4% in Friday trading.
The streaming service also announced it has reached a deal with live events platform Eventbrite to sell its Ticketfly business for $200 million. The Ticketfly website allowed users to buy tickets or discover events near their area.
Pandora acquired Ticketfly two years ago in a deal worth $450 million. The goal of the deal was connecting listeners to events linked to their favorite artists.
“Pandora is now poised to advance to the next stage of the company’s lifecycle, ” said Pandora director Tim Leiweke in a statement.
The shift arrives as more consumers lean on streaming services to get their music. For the first time, the U. S. music industry generated most of its revenue from streaming or subscription services, the Recording Industry Association of America revealed in March .
For overall listening, Pandora dominates the streaming market. According to research firm MusicWatch, Pandora earned 28% of all streaming music hours last year, followed by YouTube and Spotify.
However, Pandora is seeing a lot more competition in the space, between Spotify and other players like Apple Music and Amazon. In March, Pandora rolled out its own premium music service to rival Apple and Spotify.
