SiriusXM's announcement that it planned to merge its stock with Liberty SiriusXM Group, a Liberty Media watchdog, helped SiriusXM's share price climb 16.4% to $5.40 this week after falling behind for much of 2023. Friday's high of $5.78 nearly brought the stock back to where it closed in 2022 at $5.84 a share.
The deal, which requires regulatory approval and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024, “will create value for all shareholders by eliminating the tracking share structure, enhancing liquidity and allowing former LSXM shareholders to participate directly in the continued performance of SiriusXM,” he said Greg Maffeipresident/CEO of Liberty Media, in a statement issued on Tuesday (December 12).
Elsewhere, Live Nation climbed 9.2% to $93.00 this week thanks in part to an investment note from analysts at Morgan Stanley that raised the price target to $110 from $100. Analysts pointed to a “secular shift” in consumer spending on experiences, the company's increased disclosures about its activities at Venue Nation and a “highly unlikely” chance that the Justice Department would break up the company after the antitrust investigation. Morgan Stanley's $110 price target suggests the stock, which is up 33.4% year-to-date, is up 18% after Friday's close.
Those big gains from SiriusXM and Live Nation, as well as a 4.1% gain from Universal Music Group, one of the index's most valuable components, helped Billboard's global music index rise 2.2% this year week to a record of 1,522.78. Nine of the index's 20 stocks ended the week in positive territory, 10 lost ground and one remained unchanged.
Other indexes soared this week after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday (December 13) and said it would cut rates three times in 2024. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite hit a record close of 14,813.92 on Friday, posting a 2.8% gain for the week. The S&P 500 is still 2% off its high after ending the week up 2.5% at 4,719.19. In the UK, the FTSE 100 rose 0.3% to 7,576.36. South Korea's KOSPI composite rose 1.8 percent to 2,563.56.
The second biggest gainer on the Billboard Global Music Index came from Reservoir Media, which gained 15% to $6.82. The stock's closing price of $6.89 on Thursday was the highest since $7.06 on February 16 and is 31.4% above the 52-week low of $5.19 set on August 10. Chinese music show Tencent Music Entertainment gained 8.0% to $8.88.
Hipgnosis Songs Fund gained 4.9% to 0.701 pounds ($0.89) after the firm announced on Monday (December 11) the sale of 20,000 non-core music assets for $23.1 million. The proceeds will be used to repay its revolving credit facility. On Friday and the company was announced his appointment Christopher Mills as an independent non-executive member with immediate effect. Mills, who has a reputation as an activist investor, is CEO/chief investment officer of the North Atlantic Smaller Companies Investment Trust and founded Harwood Capital Management in 2011. Following the news, shares of the Hipgnosis Songs Fund rose 2.3% on Friday .
Music streaming company Anghami fell 30.4% to $0.94, bringing its three-week decline to 66.5%. Apart from Anghami, however, no other stock ended the week with losses of more than 5%. iHeartMedia fell 4.9% to $2.52 and MSG Entertainment fell 3.2% to $31.16.
