Nielsen Holdings said on Tuesday that it had agreed to acquire Arbitron, the radio ratings company, for $1.26 billion.
The offer of $48 a share in cash for each outstanding share of Arbitron represents a premium of 26 percent to Arbitron's closing price on Monday. Nielsen says it has a financing commitment for the full amount of the transaction.
“U.S. consumers spend almost 2 hours a day with radio. It is and will continue to be a vibrant and important advertising medium,†Nielsen's chief executive, David Calhoun, said in a statement. “Arbitron will help Nielsen better solve for unmeasured areas of media consumption, including streaming audio and out-of-home. The high level of engagement with radio and TV among rapidly growing multicultural audiences makes this central to Nielsen`s priorities.â€
The two companies have combined revenue of $6 billion.
