[UPDATED] In addition to a $480 million investment from SiriusXM, Pandora today announced it will sell its Ticketfly ticketing arm to Eventbrite for $200 million.
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In addition to today’s $200 million sale by Pandora of Ticketfly to self-service ticketer Eventbrite, the two companies say they are close to a deal that would broaden the selection of tickets available on the music streamer.
But at $200 million, the sale is priced at $250 million below the $450 million that Pandora paid for Ticketfly just 20 months ago.
In addition to helping its balance sheet, Pandora explains the sale this way: [We believe] “that this type of commercial agreement is the best approach to ticketing, leveraging audience scale and targeting while minimizing the operational commitment.”
The Ticketfly transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2017. Eventbrite is funding the acquisition using a combination of $150 million in cash and a $50 million note payable to Pandora.