Pandora may be the largest Internet radio service in the world, but that doesn’t mean all that much considering how it’s music-streaming services like Spotify that have been getting all the attention in recent years. That isn’t to say Pandora is a failure, because it still has a market value of $1.8, but that’s a significant decrease from the more than $7 billion it had a couple of years ago, so it’s clear that things aren’t working out for the company. According to The New York Times, things have gotten so bad that there have been talks within the company about throwing in the towel and looking for a company to acquire its assets.
Pandora Media, the largest Internet radio service, has held discussions about selling the company, according to people briefed on the talks. Pandora is working with Morgan Stanley to meet with potential buyers, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The talks are preliminary and may not lead to a deal, the people said. For Pandora, it would be a curious time to sell. Its shares are yielding a market value of $1.8 billion, down from more than $7 billion two years ago. The stock has fallen more than 60 percent since October. Pandora has the largest number of users for music streaming, but the competition is encroaching. Spotify is said to be arming itself with another $500 million in capital, and Apple Music recently surpassed 10 million paying users. Pandora’s users peaked at 81.5 million at the end of 2014, and, after falling to about 78 million in the third quarter of 2015, ended the year with 81.1 million. The company is spending heavily to attract users, and its ability to make money from those users may be waning. In the third quarter, Pandora lowered its full-year financial guidance, expecting its adjusted earnings to be $51 million to $56 million, down from the $75 million to $85 million it projected in the quarter before.
