SiriusXM‘s buyout of Pandora has been granted approval in Europe, according to an SEC form filed by Pandora yesterday (November 19).
Back in September, it was announced that Sirius XM Holdings had acquired Pandora in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $3.5 billion.
According to the most recent filing, the deal was subject to ‘approvals under the competition laws of Germany and Austria’.
Those approvals were granted on November 16.
The deal combines SiriusXM’s base of over 36 million North American subscribers and 23mn+ annual trial listeners, and Pandora’s 70m users.
In addition to the European regulatory approval, the deal is subject to clearance by lawmakers in the United States, under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR Act).
The HSR Act requires a review of mergers and acquisitions by the US Federal Trade Commission and the US Department of Justice to ensure that they are not in breach of US anti-competition laws.
“In connection with the Transaction, on October 18, 2018, we and the ultimate parent entity of Sirius XM each filed a Notification and Report Form under the HSR Act, with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the US Department of Justice,” stated Pandora in the SEC filing.
“As part of the parties’ continuing cooperation with the DOJ and in order to provide the DOJ with additional time for review, on November 19, 2018, we and the ultimate parent entity of Sirius XM voluntarily withdrew our respective HSR Notifications and intend to re-file our respective HSR Notifications on November 21, 2018.
“The waiting period under the HSR Act with respect to the Refiled Notification would be scheduled to expire on December 21, 2018, unless extended by a request for further information or terminated earlier.”
Pandora and SiriusXM still expect the deal to close by the end of Q1 2019.Music Business Worldwide
