Renew Group Private Ltd. has fully divested its stake in audio content creation and distribution company Cumulus Media — shedding the shares just ahead of an exit from the Nasdaq Global Market exchange and shift to the OTC Markets.
The sale of the shares in Cumulus by the Singapore-based entity led by Manoj Bhargava comes 14 months after Renew was poised to engage in what Cumulus was worried could amount to a hostile takeover of the company led by CEO Mary Berner.
According to an SEC filing, Renew 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, the newly filed SEC document states.
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. However, Bhargava has also conducted a wholesale review of its entire media assets in the last year and abruptly closed its NewsNet digital multicast television operation down due to slow growth amid rising costs. Bharvaga also came under scrutiny for his operation of Sports Illustrated, which saw major downsizing and cost containment last year.
As for Renew Group’s future in radio, the company remains the second-largest stakeholder in Audacy Inc, following the company’s Chapter 11 restructuring, only behind Laurel Tree Opportunities Corporation.
— Additional reporting by Adam R Jacobson
