iHeartMedia enters SiriusXM talks
- SiriusXM has entered early talks to acquire iHeartMedia, according to Bloomberg and The New York Times, in a potential tie-up of major U.S. audio groups. - iHeartMedia shares surged as much as 35% Monday, while SiriusXM fell about 5%; advisers reportedly include Irving Azoff and Apollo Global Management. - The talks come before SiriusXM earnings on April 30 and amid radio’s fight for scale in podcasts. (bloomberg.com)
SiriusXM is in early talks to acquire iHeartMedia, according to reports published April 24 and April 27, and no deal is guaranteed. (bloomberg.com) (nytimes.com) Bloomberg reported the discussions first on Friday, April 24, describing them as preliminary and saying representatives for both companies declined to comment. (bloomberg.com) (money.usnews.com) Variety and The Hollywood Reporter said music executive Irving Azoff and Apollo Global Management are involved in advising on a possible transaction. (variety.com) (hollywoodreporter.com) The companies sit on different ends of the legacy-audio business. iHeartMedia is the biggest U.S. radio station owner, while SiriusXM runs the country’s largest satellite-radio subscription service. (axios.com) (forbes.com) They have both spent the last several years pushing deeper into podcasts and digital audio as broadcast listening and pay-radio growth have slowed. SiriusXM says it had about 32.9 million U.S. subscribers at December 31, 2025, and iHeart tells investors it is the No. 1 podcast publisher by audience. (sec.gov) (investor.iheartmedia.com) The market reaction showed who investors think needs the deal more. iHeartMedia stock traded above $6 on Monday morning after closing at $5.42 on April 24, while SiriusXM fell from $28.00 on April 24 to about $26.35 in early trading Monday. (cnbc.com) (finance.yahoo.com 1) (finance.yahoo.com 2) SiriusXM is the larger company by revenue. It reported $8.56 billion in 2025 revenue, $805 million in net income and $1.26 billion in free cash flow. (investor.siriusxm.com) (prnewswire.com) iHeartMedia is smaller and more leveraged. Its 2025 revenue was about $3.86 billion, and management has told investors it is targeting about $800 million in 2026 adjusted EBITDA and $200 million in free cash flow. (sec.gov) (stockanalysis.com) The timing also puts the talks in front of SiriusXM’s next earnings report. The company has scheduled its first-quarter 2026 results for Thursday, April 30, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. (investor.siriusxm.com) (finance.yahoo.com) If the talks advance, the deal would combine SiriusXM’s subscription audio business with iHeart’s broadcast-radio network, ad sales and podcast distribution. For now, the companies have not announced an agreement, and the reports say the discussions could still collapse. (axios.com) (bloomberg.com)
