Barrington: Pandora Bid Unlikely In 2015

Pandora Media Inc (NYSE: P) is unlikely to be acquired at least until royalty negotiations are completed, an analyst said Thursday.

"I'd be surprise anybody would acquire it with all that uncertainty," Barrington Research's Jeff Houston told Benzinga.

Benzinga asked Houston about unconfirmed speculation that rapper Jay-Z might make a bid on Pandora.

Reuters reported Friday that Jay-Z will acquire Scandinavia music streamer Aspiro for $56 million.

Pandora has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion.

Related Link: Dougherty & Company Weighs In On Pandora Rumors

"I'm not too familiar with Jay-Z," Houston said. "But yeah, if he's got the cash, then he could certainly make an offer."

Wealth-X in December estimated that the Jay-Z's net worth combined with that of his wife, the pop star Beyoncé, is about $950 million.

Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB) and Sirius XM Holdings Inc. have previously been mentioned as potential Pandora buyers, Houston said.

Shares of Pandora trade recently at $16.63, up 8.4 percent.

Brianna Valleskey contributed to this report.