In the conferemnce call today, Mel was asked how quickly the merger would be consumated if approved.
In answe Mel stated that if they got the news on a Monday, that they would consumate the deal by Tuesday.
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1. It would appear that Mel is not anticipating a decision prior to the shareholder vote. If a decision is made by regulators prior to the shareholder vote, Sirius and XM would not be able to close the next day. They would still need the shareolders to approve.
2. Given that the shareholder vote is on the 13th of November, I would personally anticipate a regulatory decision somewhere between November 20th and December 6th. Thanksgiving is in the middle of those dates, so the range is tighter than many may think.