Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) has recently rejected an acquisition deal worth $3.40 billion from Liberty Media. The offer can already be considered generous, given the relatively poor performance of the company lately due to the growing competition in the music streaming industry. Nonetheless, Pandora Media turned it down as it is mainly considering expanding.
2Q Financial Results
Pandora Media has released its latest quarterly report on Thursday, showing a 20% increase in sales year-over-year to $343 million. However, this fell short of analysts’ expectations of $351.60 million. The company gave a sales guidance of $365 million for the third quarter, missing analysts’ projections of $378.20 million.
The total number of listeners also declined from the previous quarter, coming in at 78.10 million for the period from a prior 79.40 million. With the rapid growth of big competitors such as Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) Apple Music and Spotify, it is quite clear why Pandora Media is losing some of its listeners. Its long-time presence in the maturing industry might not even be enough for it to play along with its leading rivals. For the full-year, Pandora Media is expecting to lose over $200 million. The good news, however, is that the total listening hours for the period rose to 5.66 billion from the previous quarter’s 5.52 billion hours.
Pandora Media’s Growth Prospects
Tim Westergren, Pandora Media Founder and CEO, guaranteed, in light of recent events and a highly competitive industry, that the company is committed to its transformation into an integral and competent music company. Westergren noted that Pandora Media is constantly working on its plans to provide better listening experience to all customers around the world.
Last year, the company acquired Rdio in a $75-million deal as part of its efforts to expand its business portfolio and look at other growth opportunities. Pandora Media is confident that the acquisition will help it tap on all viable areas of profitability. Pandora Media is relying heavily on advertisements, which is why it is important for the company to revitalize its offerings.
