REPORT: LIBERTY EYEING iHEART

John Malone’s Liberty Media has its eyes on acquiring a chunk of iHeartMedia once the radio behemoth gets out of bankruptcy next year, the New York Post reports.

The Post reports that Liberty Media is looking to acquire 35% of iHeart, which had its reorganization plan approved by creditors on Monday. The company’s debt load has been reduced by two-thirds and it will return it to market in February. Liberty currently owns $660m of iHeart debt and will end up with about 5% of iHeart post-bankruptcy.

Should the acquisition come to pass, Liberty would become a major player in the music space with money in satellite radio, streaming, concert promotion, artist management and ticketing. The company owns 71% of SiriusXM Radio, which is buying Pandora Media, and has one-third of Live Nation Entertainment.

Speculation has abounded the company might seek to increase its share of Live Nation. Might they also be interested in taking a stake in Universal Music Group when it goes on sale? Stay tuned.