02-19-2007, 02:20 PM
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#1 (permalink)
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Administrator
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 61
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Sirius, XM close to merger
Another monoply! I hope this wont affect my service of Sirius 
Quote:
NEW YORK, NY, United States (UPI) -- U.S. radio operators Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio Holdings are in final merger discussions, a published report said Monday.
The deal, which would create a single satellite radio operator with more than 12 million subscribers, would save the companies nearly $7 billion a year, The New York Post reported.
The agreement is expected to be structured as a merger of equals but given Sirius` higher value, its shareholders will likely come away with a larger percentage of the combined company, The New York Post reported.
Sirius has a market capitalization of $5.2 billion. XM is valued at about $3.8 billion.
Sirius Chief Executive Officer Mel Karmazin would likely become the new company`s CEO with XM Chairman Gary Parsons retaining that title, the newspaper said. It is unclear what role XM CEO Hugh Panero would play.
Gaining regulatory approval 'could take up to 15 months,' a Bear Stearns analyst wrote Friday. 'Hence, we think any proposed deal needs to be announced by the end of March to close by mid-2008.'
Federal Communications Commissioner Kevin Martin has said he has regulatory concerns about combining the two services, which feature rival sports, music and talk-radio programming.
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Sirius, XM close to merger
