SIRI Intraday Updates for the Week of 2/16/09

[SteveSirius]

4:37 pm today update by Reuters:

(Adds details in paragraphs 1,4,5)

PHILADELPHIA, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Liberty Media (LINTA.O) was near a deal to buy a major stake in Sirius XM Radio Inc (SIRI.O) that would save the satellite radio company from bankruptcy, Dow Jones reported on Monday.

Meanwhile, a group of Sirius creditors will seek to remove Chief Executive Mel Karmazin if the company chooses a bankruptcy filing over a deal with an investor that would let it stay solvent, the Wall Street Journal said.

"Creditors will act quickly and definitively if they perceive that management is (not) acting ... in the best interest of the estate," the paper quoted Edward Weisfelner, a partner with Brown Rudnick LLP - the law firm representing the creditor group - as saying.

"The management of Sirius XM is continually working to ensure the best possible outcome for the enterprise," a spokesman for Sirius said.

Sources told Reuters last week that Liberty Media was talking to Sirius about a plan to invest in the satellite radio company but not take it over. The timing of an agreement was unclear.

The talks with Liberty are seen as a last-ditch attempt by Karmazin to hold off EchoStar, which holds $175 million in Sirius convertible bonds due on Feb. 17.

Sirius said it had refinanced some debt that was due in December, but added that it still might have to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection if talks toward refinancing other debt did not yield results by Tuesday. [nN13519730] (Reporting by Ramya Dilip in Bangalore, Franklin Paul in New York and Jessica Hall in Philadelphia; Editing by Christian Wiessner)

[winagain35]

By MATTHEW KARNITSCHNIG

John Malone's Liberty Media Inc. was near a deal late Monday to invest in Sirius XM Radio Inc. in return for a major stake, according to people familiar with the matter.

Though the two sides remained in negotiations over the final details, Mr. Malone appeared poised to the edge past rival media baron Charles Ergen for a piece of the troubled satellite-radio operator. A deal would create a satellite-media juggernaut around DirectTV Group Inc., the country's leading satellite-television provider, and Sirius, the sole satellite-radio operator in the U.S.

Under the proposed agreement, Liberty would invest several hundred million dollars in Sirius in two stages and eventually control about half of the company, the people said. Mr. Ergen had been seeking outright control in return for a roughly $500 million investment and an agreement to restructure about $400 million in Sirius debt that he holds.

A deal would allow Sirius to avoid bankruptcy. The company must pay about $175 million in notes held by Mr. Ergen by the close of business tomorrow. It has warned that it will likely be forced to file for bankruptcy if it doesn't secure a deal.

It's unclear whether Mr. Ergen, the satellite-television pioneer behind Dish Network Corp. and EchoStar Corp., will continue to pursue Sirius. Unlike Liberty, which has presented itself as a "white knight" to Sirius, Mr. Ergen's approach has been more aggressive.

Mr. Ergen, a longtime adversary of Sirius Chief Executive Mel Karmazin, began amassing Sirius debt last fall as a part of a stealth attack on the company. Earlier this month, he acquired the $175 million in Sirius debt that expires on Tuesday, a step he was hoping would force the company into a deal with him.

Mr. Ergen and Sirius cleared almost all the obstacles to a deal last week, according to people in both camps. But Sirius preferred a deal that wouldn't give an investor full control and turned to Liberty.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123481965239594427.html

[Bulldog17]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1234...oo_hs&ru=yahoo

[SiriusXMInvestor]

John Malone’s Liberty Media is expected to offer about $250m in a senior secured loan on Tuesday as the first step in a “multi-stage” deal to rescue Sirius XM from an imminent debt deadline, a person familiar with the satellite radio group’s discussions said.

The deal offered by Liberty would involve a debt for equity swap and would leave Mr Malone’s group, which controls DirecTV, the top US satellite television company, with a “meaningful” stake in Sirius, this person said.

EDITOR’S CHOICE
Sirius faces spectre of bankruptcy - Feb-13Sirius XM weighs up Liberty Media financing offer - Feb-16It was not immediately clear what the other stages of the transaction would involve and several details of the proposed deal have yet to be finalised, but a decision is expected by end of business day on Tuesday.

Liberty’s offer is designed to thwart the advances of Charlie Ergen, chief executive of EchoStar and Dish Communications, the US satellite broadcasters, who offered to buy Sirius XM late last year.

Mr Ergen’s offer was rebuffed but since then he has quietly accumulated Sirius’ debt and now owns a $175m tranche of debt which comes due on Tuesday.

Sirius warned investors last week it would need to file for bankruptcy protection if it could not restructure its debt by the Tuesday deadline. The group has $3.25bn in total debt, with $1bn due this year.

Creditors voiced concern over the weekend, with Edward Weisfelner, a Brown Rudnick bankruptcy lawyer representing holders of about $173m of Sirius debt, warning that the bondholders could seek the removal of Sirius XM executives should it file for bankruptcy.

Mr Weisfelner, who also represented disaffected XM bondholders seeking a change of control premium during the merger with Sirius, told the FT on Monday that neither he nor his clients had been contacted by the company to clarify its plans.

Liberty Media’s approach is seen as a more friendly option for Sirius to pursue than an offer by Mr Ergen, who has tussled in the past with Mel Karmazin, Sirius’s chief executive.

Mr Ergen’s EchoStar once sued Viacom for antitrust violations, publishing Mr Karmazin’s home phone number on television for disgruntled customers to call in a dispute while Mr Karmazin was president of Viacom, then the owner of the CBS broadcast network.

The crisis at Sirius was triggered by the company’s inability to refinance debts taken on in the XM merger in frozen credit markets, a sickly advertising climate and a plunge in sales of new cars where its radios can be installed.

The group, which once lavished large contracts upon on-air talent, including a $500m five-year deal with Howard Stern, has seen its market capitalisation crash from $5.5bn at the time of the merger to under $370m on Friday night.

Evercore is advising Sirius. UBS is advising Liberty Media.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5ba89940-f...077b07658.html

[trippingthespeculatingpos]

here we go people, you get to a ring side ticket to one of the biggest stock turn arounds in history.

[SiriusDad]

here we go people, you get to a ring side ticket to one of the biggest stock turn arounds in history.

Tripp,

With all of the probable dilution, where do you see this stock going tomorrow?

[SiriuslyGay]

We will hit 25 cents tomorrow.

[trippingthespeculatingpos]

up up up /\ /\ /\

[winagain35]

Assuming that the float will double - I'm thinking that a reverse split may be announced at the same time. Thoughts?

[Hughes]

Assuming that the float will double - I'm thinking that a reverse split may be announced at the same time. Thoughts?

I was thinking the same thing. I guess they will officially announce this sometime tonight?