Not too likely, since their licenses were specifically granted on the condition that they not merge. Requires FCC and Department of Justice approval; the former is unlikely, the latter possible. Despite what they say, market conditions haven't really changed since grant. HD Radio, and Mp3 music players already existed. One caveat: they could claim to be "failing enterprises." Technically, kinda interesting to see how they will combine geo-sync and polar orbit satellites. John Willkie > -----Original Message----- > From: opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] > On Behalf Of Manfredi, Albert E > Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 3:53 PM > To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Subject: [opendtv] Satellite radio rivals Sirius, XM to merge > > How strange. I wonder whether this will be permitted, in view of what > happened to the Dish/DirecTV merger. > > Bert > > -------------------------------- > Satellite radio rivals Sirius, XM to merge > > Mark LaPedus > (02/19/2007 10:09 PM EST) > URL: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=197007242 > > SAN JOSE, Calif. - Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. Monday (Feb. 19) agreed > to acquire rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. for $4.57 billion in > stock. > > Under the terms of the agreement, XM shareholders will receive a fixed > exchange ratio of 4.6 shares of Sirius common stock for each share of XM > they own. XM and Sirius shareholders will each own approximately 50 > percent of the combined company. > > Mel Karmazin, chief executive of Sirius, will become CEO of the combined > company. Gary Parsons, currently chairman of XM, will become chairman of > the combined company. Hugh Panero, the CEO of XM, will continue in his > current role until the anticipated close of the merger. > > The new company's board of directors will consist of 12 directors, > including Karmazin and Parsons, four independent members designated by > each company, as well as one representative from each of General Motors > and American Honda. > > The combination creates a nationwide audio entertainment provider with > combined 2006 revenues of approximately $1.5 billion based on analysts' > consensus estimates. Today the companies have approximately 14 million > combined subscribers. > > Together, Sirius and XM will create a stronger platform for future > innovation within the audio entertainment industry and will provide > significant benefits to all constituencies, according to the companies. > > "We are excited for the many opportunities that an XM and Sirius > combination will provide consumers," said Gary Parsons, Chairman of XM > Satellite Radio and Hugh Panero, CEO of XM Satellite Radio, in a joint > statement. "The combined company will be better positioned to compete > effectively with the continually expanding array of entertainment > alternatives that consumers have embraced since the Federal > Communications Commission (FCC) first granted our satellite radio > licenses a decade ago." > > "This combination is the next logical step in the evolution of audio > entertainment," said Mel Karmazin, CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio, in the > same statement. > > The transaction is subject to approval by both companies' shareholders, > the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and regulatory review > and approvals, including antitrust agencies and the FCC. Pending > regulatory approval, the companies expect the transaction to be > completed by the end of 2007. > > All material on this site Copyright 2007 CMP Media LLC. All rights > reserved. > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways: > > - Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at > FreeLists.org > > - By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word > unsubscribe in the subject line. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways: - Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at FreeLists.org - By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line.