Reston-based media-measurement and analytics company Comscore Inc. announced Thursday that Connecticut-based Charter Communications Inc., Colorado-based Qurate Retail Inc. and an affiliate of New York-based Cerberus Capital Management LP are each making a cash investment in exchange for shares of convertible preferred stock.
Proceeds from the investment will be used by Comscore to retire existing debt and improve the company’s financial flexibility and liquidity position. The investment includes the issuance of convertible preferred stock of $204 million ($68 million per investor) at $2.47 per share. A competitor of rival analytics and media ratings firm Nielsen Holdings PLC, Comscore has struggled as media consumption habits have rapidly changed. It has also experienced financial challenges.
In a Jan. 7 news release, Comscore stated that telecommunications and mass media company Charter would provide Comscore with “enhanced access” to consumer data and rights. Comscore also stated that the move would assist with the industry’s shift to census-based audience viewership and provide advertisers with more reliable audience measurement and analysis.
