Pandora in talks to sell itself: New York Times

(Reuters) - Online music streaming service Pandora Media Inc (P.N) has held discussions about selling itself, the New York Times reported, citing people briefed on the talks.

Pandora's shares rose 6.5 percent to $8.95 on Thursday as the paper reported the company was working with Morgan Stanley to meet with potential buyers.

A Pandora spokesman declined to comment.

Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O), Hulu and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) could be among the potential buyers for Pandora.

"I do believe that a banker has approached some, and I do believe there are companies interested in buying them," Pachter told Reuters.

Pandora, which had 78.1 million active users at the end of September, faces stiff competition from Spotify, Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) Apple Music and Amazon in the fast-growing music streaming business.

"Any company that views music as a cornerstone of their strategy should be interested in bidding for Pandora," Needham & Co analyst Laura Martin said.

Pandora had a market value of $1.79 billion as of Wednesday's close, down nearly half from a year earlier.

"I think the company is really valuable ... I don't think they (Pandora) will give a deal if they are below $20 a share," Pachter said.

(Reporting by Kshitiz Goliya in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)