Renew Group Private Ltd. has fully divested its stake in Cumulus Media, exiting just as the broadcaster prepares to leave the Nasdaq Global Market exchange. This comes one year and two months after Renew was poised for a hostile takeover of Cumulus.
The Singapore-based firm, led by billionaire Manoj Bhargava, sold its final 1,058,836 shares of Cumulus between April 15 and April 28, at an average price of $0.20 per share. Renew originally purchased its stake for more than $5.1 million and had previously held over 10% of the company’s shares. It officially ceased to be a beneficial owner of more than 5% as of April 25, according to a new SEC filing.
Renew’s retreat came during a period of extreme volatility for Cumulus. On April 23, the stock closed at $0.2699 before plummeting 24% in after-hours trading, following the disclosure of Cumulus Media’s decision to voluntarily delist from Nasdaq and shift its public shares to the OTCQB market.
In a statement to Radio Ink, the company cited time, cost, and strategic focus as reasons for declining to appeal a Nasdaq delisting notice over equity shortfall, which was issued on March 7. Cumulus has been under pressure for months, with its stock falling from $0.90 in February to under $0.25 by late April.
According to Nasdaq policy, Cumulus had until April 30 to request a hearing before the Nasdaq Hearings Panel to delay or overturn the delisting.
Trading of Cumulus shares on the Nasdaq will be suspended at the opening bell on Friday, May 2. The company’s “CMLS” ticker symbol will remain the same on the OTCQB.
As for Renew Group’s future in radio, the company remains the second-largest stakeholder in Audacy following the company’s Chapter 11 restructuring, only behind Laurel Tree Opportunities Corporation. Laurel Tree could potentially face trouble due to its ties to left-leaning billionaire George Soros from an aggressive GOP-led FCC under new Chairman Brendan Carr. What that means for Renew remains to be seen.
