Connoisseur Media CEO Jeff Warshaw reportedly made an unsolicited offer to purchase Cumulus Media for approximately $1.2 billion. The proposed deal, which was reported on Thursday afternoon, caused shares of Cumulus to jump nearly 40%.
According to Reuters, Warshaw and several unnamed investors want to take Cumulus private for $15-$17 per share. Warshaw declined to comment when reached via text by rbr.com.
Warshaw’s Connoisseur Media owns and operates 13 radio stations in Maryland, New York, and Connecticut. In 2019, Connoisseur Media executed an asset exchange with Cumulus. In the deal, Connoisseur acquired two radio stations in Southern Connecticut, including news/talk brand WICC in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
A Cumulus Media spokesperson told Inside Radio that the company received “an unsolicited, non-binding, highly conditional indication of interest.” The company added the letter was “consistent with its fiduciary duties.”
Adding that, “the Cumulus Board of Directors is reviewing the letter.”
Cumulus is radio’s third-largest group with 406 stations, the Westwood One radio network, and a growing digital platform that includes the Cumulus Podcast Network.
