iHeartMedia, a restructured radio station operator with the US's largest footprint, withdrew its S-1 application for an initial public offering on Friday. It originally filed in April 2019 with a proposed deal size of $100 million; however, the deal size was likely a placeholder. Instead, the company now plans to complete a direct listing on the Nasdaq. In March 2019, iHeartMedia stated that it was exploring both options, pursuant to requirements under its plan of reorganization.
On Friday, the company announced that its common stock had been approved for listing on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. According to the press release, iHeartMedia's management team will be meeting with investors the week of July 15 in advance of a listing date of July 18, 2019.
Direct listings are still an uncommon alternative to IPOs, though earlier this month Slack (WORK) completed a high-profile NYSE direct listing, and in 2018 Spotify (SPOT) chose that route as well. However, those two well-funded growth companies had no clear need for IPO cash; with about $5.8 billion in pro forma net debt at quarter-close and roughly $1.0 billion in pro forma adj. EBITDA, iHeartMedia has a much different profile.
The San Antonio, TX-based company was founded in 1972 and booked $3.6 billion in pro forma sales for the 12 months ended March 31, 2019. In its S-1, it disclosed that it planned to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol IHRT. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were set to be the joint bookrunners on the deal.
