Filing Flows › iHeartMedia (IHRT) › Takeover & LBO
Is iHeartMedia (IHRT) a takeover target?
A leveraged buyout at today's price plus 30% ($2.39 a share) would return about 7% a year to a private-equity buyer over 5 years; no price, however low, gets a buyer to 20%. It already carries 14.2× EBITDA in net debt (the model flags anything over 6×), so a buyer could add little debt of its own. Historically 4.8% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (0.95× the average).
The buyout, step by step
| Entry | Amount | How |
|---|---|---|
| Offer price a share | $2.39 | today's $1.84 plus 30% |
| × shares | 157.7 million | |
| = Equity value | $377M | |
| + Debt refinanced | $5.0B | |
| − Cash | $174M | |
| + Other claims | $2.4M | preferred stock, minority interests |
| = Enterprise value | $5.2B | 15.3× EBITDA of $344M |
| Fees | $105M | 2% of the price |
| New debt | $1.9B | 5.5× EBITDA at 7.65% a year; the limit that binds: 5.5× EBITDA |
| Buyer's own money | $3.5B | 65% of the cost |
5 years under the buyer
| Year | Revenue | EBITDA | Interest | Free cash flow | Debt left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $4.1B | $354M | $145M | $112M | $1.8B |
| Year 2 | $4.2B | $365M | $136M | $129M | $1.7B |
| Year 3 | $4.4B | $376M | $126M | $147M | $1.5B |
| Year 4 | $4.5B | $388M | $115M | $166M | $1.3B |
| Year 5 | $4.6B | $399M | $102M | $187M | $1.2B |
The exit and the buyer's return
| Exit | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Exit multiple | 15.0× EBITDA | today's trading multiple, before any premium |
| Enterprise value at exit | $6.0B | |
| − Debt left | $1.2B | |
| = Buyer's equity | $4.8B | |
| Money multiple | 1.40× | on $3.5B put in |
| Buyer's yearly return (IRR) | 6.9% |
Price against return
What the buyer makes at other premiums over today's $1.84.
| Premium | Price a share | Buyer's IRR |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $2.02 | 7.3% |
| 20% | $2.21 | 7.1% |
| 30% | $2.39 | 6.9% |
| 40% | $2.58 | 6.8% |
| 50% | $2.76 | 6.6% |
The figures used
| Figure | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue, last 12 months | $4.0B | |
| EBITDA, last 12 months | $344M | 8.6% of revenue |
| Depreciation and amortization | $337M | |
| Capital spending | $82.8M | |
| Debt | $5.0B | |
| Cash | $174M | |
| Share price | $1.84 | on Oct 30, 2026 |
Fixed rules, the same as the interactive view's starting point: the shares are bought at today's price plus 30%, the company's debt is refinanced and fees take 2%. New debt is the least of 5.5× EBITDA, 65% of the price and the amount whose interest EBITDA covers 2 times, at 7.65% a year (SOFR 3.89% plus the high-yield B spread 3.26% plus 0.5%, rates of Oct 15, 2026). Revenue grows 3.1% in the first year — the company's own rate, held between −3% and +8% — fading to 3% by year 5; the EBITDA margin, depreciation and capital spending stay at today's share of revenue; working capital takes 10% of each year's added revenue; tax is 21% of profit after interest. Every dollar of free cash flow repays debt. After 5 years the buyer sells at today's multiple of EBITDA.
What a takeover could cost
Takeovers on record paid a median premium of 32.5% over the share price before the deal (the middle half 20% to 51.8%), according to the 1,437 merger proxies and tender-offer responses on EDGAR that state a premium. At the median, iHeartMedia would cost about $2.44 a share, $384M for all its shares.
| Premium | % | Price a share | All shares |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low end (a quarter of deals paid less) | 20% | $2.21 | $348M |
| Median | 32.5% | $2.44 | $384M |
| High end (a quarter paid more) | 51.8% | $2.79 | $440M |
The odds, from history
Historically 4.8% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (0.95× the average). Its figures put it in decile 5 of 10 (10 = the most likely to be bought). The odds come from a model of every merger proxy, tender-offer response and going-private statement filed on EDGAR since 2011, set against each company's size, margins, debt, cash flow and growth the year before.
iHeartMedia's latest quarter
iHeartMedia, Q2 2026: revenue $977M (+5% year over year), operating margin 3.6%, net loss $82.5M, operating cash flow $64.9M. The chart follows the revenue to costs, profit and cash.
Questions
Is iHeartMedia being acquired?
No headline, 8-K or 13D about a sale is on file in the last year.
Could private equity buy iHeartMedia?
A leveraged buyout at today's price plus 30% ($2.39 a share) would return about 7% a year to a private-equity buyer over 5 years; no price, however low, gets a buyer to 20%. It already carries 14.2× EBITDA in net debt (the model flags anything over 6×), so a buyer could add little debt of its own.
What would a takeover of iHeartMedia cost?
Takeovers on record paid a median premium of 32.5% over the share price before the deal (the middle half 20% to 51.8%), according to the 1,437 merger proxies and tender-offer responses on EDGAR that state a premium. At the median, iHeartMedia would cost about $2.44 a share, $384M for all its shares.
Updated Nov 8, 2026. Read automatically from SEC filings and public data; errors are possible. Not investment advice.