Audacy Reportedly Looking to Sell One of its Podcast Studios
Jeff Blumenthal at The Philadelphia Business Journal:
Looking to alleviate debt and get back in compliance with New York Stock Exchange listing requirements, Philadelphia-based Audacy is reportedly exploring the sale of podcast studio Cadence13.
Axios reported Tuesday that the nation’s second largest radio station owner has hired boutique investment banking firm Evolution Media Capital, which specializes in sports, media and entertainment deals, and has pitched Cadence to most of the major audio entertainment providers. The report said some potential buyers have expressed interest in acquiring its other podcast studio, Pineapple Street Studios, but Audacy has no plans to unload both.
An Audacy (NYSE: AUD) spokesman said “we don’t comment on rumors of this nature. We remain absolutely committed to the growth of our podcasting business, as demonstrated by the investments we’ve made in our studios, content and talent.”
Audacy has been going through rocky stuff lately. The stock dropped below a dollar in the summer, which resulted in a compliance warning from the NYSE, and as of publication the price is sitting at 44 cents. It hasn’t been above $1 since early July.
Based at 2400 Market Street, the company owns 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, KYW News Radio, and some music stations. Before the rebrand, the company was known as Entercom and purchased those stations from CBS Radio. They’ve really branched out into other forms of audio and added a lot of employees during the past five years, while battling with the pandemic and having to do a couple of layoff rounds at the same time.