Report: Cumulus Can't Stop Slide

A management shakeup in late September has failed to stem the stock slide of Cumulus shares, which had lost 80 percent of their value this year before the CEO turnover, dropped nearly 39 percent last week, closing at 46 cents Friday.

Mary Berner, the former CEO of Reader’s Digest Association, is supposed to roll out a turnaround plan by mid-December. But just two weeks into her tenure, she’s already getting a no-confidence vote from Wall Street.

“Mary Berner is a bit of an unusual choice. Radio needs to look forward and she’s looking even more backwards,” one debt-holder told The NY Post.

Mary Berner

“The most logical thing is to break it up and sell it,” he added.

Although the company’s battered shares, sizable debt load and stagnant sales growth have sparked bankruptcy rumors, Cumulus has more than $100 million in cash and no major debt coming due until 2019.

There’s growing speculation that Berner could sell Westwood One, its program syndication service, and major market stations to pay down some $2.5 billion of debt as Dickey aggressively bought up stations.

Atlanta-based Cumulus owns 450 stations in 90 markets. It also has a stake in music streaming service Rdio.

Then there’s the fate of its country music brand, Nash. Under Dickey, Cumulus made a big bet on Nash, which it extended to radio stations, television and even a record label.

So far, Berner seems more focused on morale-boosting than cost-cutting, sources said.

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