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iHeart confirms it will direct list on Nasdaq

By | Published on Monday 1 July 2019

iHeartMedia

US radio giant iHeart – which also operates the iHeartRadio streaming service – has confirmed that it will become a public company again by listing on the Nasdaq stock exchange. It will arrive on the stock market via one of those direct listings that Spotify made trendy last year, which means there won’t be a traditional initial public offering.

iHeart announced in April that it would likely list on a stock exchange as it comes out a long-running restructuring process that saw the firm slip into bankruptcy. It’s hoped that the restructure and stock market listing will allow the broadcaster to put behind it years of uncertainty that were caused by a massive debt-load which was in turn caused by a stupid ‘leveraged buyout’ of the business back in 2008.

On Friday the company said: “As previously announced, iHeart had been evaluating all paths to achieve a listing of its Class A common stock on a recognised US stock exchange following emergence from its restructuring process. iHeartMedia has determined that a listing on the Nasdaq Global Select Market is the optimal strategy for iHeartMedia and all of the company’s stakeholders”.

The direct listing means that paperwork previously filed with the US Securities & Exchange Commission that prepared the way for a full-on IPO has now been withdrawn. The broadcaster says that it will meet with investors on 15 Jul before listing on Nasdaq on 18 Jul.

Boss man Bob Pittman added: “This is an exciting time for our company and an important step in the evolution of iHeartMedia. Our listing on the Nasdaq will provide greater liquidity for existing shareholders, allow us to diversify our investor base, and give us improved access to public capital markets in the future”.



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