SiriusXM to pay $3.5 billion for Pandora

Enlarge (credit: Bill McChesney)

Pandora has agreed to be acquired by satellite company SiriusXM for $3.5 billion. The deal will expand SiriusXM's reach. The satellite company has 36 million subscribers, while Pandora has more than 70 million monthly active users.

The companies say users shouldn't expect any immediate changes, and Pandora will continue to operate as a separate service.

Pandora has amassed a massive audience, but the company has struggled financially due to long-running fights with music labels over music licensing rates. Recently it has lost ground to rivals Spotify and Apple Music, and last year it launched a Spotify-like premium on-demand service. The company has been looking for a buyer for a couple of years.

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