MODERATOR: So Mel was here this morning and he told me to ask you this question, a question I asked him. Uhh, you’ve got a 40% stake in, umm, in Sirius.
MALONE: Um-hm.
MODERATOR: And its obviously worked out very well for you, we calculated like a 12 million % return, um, but in any case if you increase your stake above 50 . . .
MALONE: Well I think the return’s gotta be infinite doesn’t it?
MODERATOR: (laughs)
MALONE: I mean since we got all our money back and we still own it.
MODERATOR: Right, so its been a great investment
MALONE: Um-hm
MODERATOR: However we calculate and um
MALONE: Thank you Mel (mock shouting)
MODERATOR: And uh, he’s done a great job but if you increase your stake above 50% that would jeopardize their 8 Billion in NOL’s
MALONE: Well we cant contractually . . . at the present time we’re barred from going into hard control of it for some period of time, I don’t remember what it is, but its all been disclosed publicly, um, so for some period of time, ya know, we have to be happy to be less than majority owner of it. Uh, as our ownership stake changes it can impact, uh, the usefulness of their NOL and so that has to, um, be watched.
MODERATOR: Right, well Mel said it was March 2012 . . . so but in any case
MALONE: Well March 2012 I believe is the last point at which we have any restrictions on our behavior.
MODERATOR: (silence)
http://www.veracast.com/webcasts/bas...TOKEN=69376592
Last edited by Sirius Roadkill; 09-15-2010 at 07:40 PM.
AQ: John assuming the LINTA spin, hard spin, goes according to plan what happens to the remaining trackers and on a sort of separate but related issue, in the case of Sirius, are there any advantages in doing a spin of your holdings?
MALONE: Well certainly, I’ll answer the second question first, we could follow the pattern of Direct TV with Sirius in which, ya know, we could presumably spin it along with a 5 year trade or business to meet the rules, put enough juice in it such that it would constitute more than 50% of the vote and value of the resulting roll up and do it in accordance with a prearranged deal very similar to Direct TV. That’s a possibility. That’s a possibility that comes up every time we look at structural options. We obviously have not made any decisions on that. We still think Sirius is cheap. We probably would like to own more of it. So I think we’re still in the create value rather than distribute value mode with respect to that particular asset.
Last edited by Sirius Roadkill; 09-15-2010 at 08:06 PM.
Over here jonpluc! I am sorry, tried to move your post.
Post mover, not so much.
Julie
SRK, wow very good work!!! Thank you, a nice read for the night!!!
So what is your take now about John Malone, and what he might do?
"If they want to acquire more of the company I would do my best to make sure its at an extraordinarily high price."
What is your thought on the above quote? "Do my best" being the key phrase to me... What do you think Mel thinks is an "extraordinarily high price", also how much control does he have over this if any? Lol...
What were your thoughts of Mel's presentation and John Malone's interview?
Thank you SRK, very anxious to here your thoughts !
How are you today Julie, how is the weather down their? !
Ahahahaha you're funny Julie and yes I would love it :P!
http://www.twice.com/article/457187-...hp?rssid=20310
Karmazin Discounts iPod Impact
Hints At Sirius XM 2.0 Features
By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 9/16/2010
Newport Beach, Calif. - The rising number of vehicles equipped at the factory with iPod/iPhone connections isn't cutting into satellite-radio subscriptions, Sirius XM CEO Mel Karmazin told investors here at a Bank of America conference.
He also told the conference that the first Sirius XM 2.0 radios will be available in the aftermarket in the fourth quarter of 2011, offering subscribers "more content and more functionality" to "provide more stickiness."
Although he didn't divulge details, Karmazin likened the launch of 2.0 to cable-TV's evolution from offering basic service to on-demand content and pause and skip capabilities.
From the automakers, "reaction is great," he continued, but "it's a question of how quickly they can get it out." It usually takes three years for a new technology to become a factory-installed technology, he explained.
Referring to competition from iPods and other portable devices in the car, Karmazin said there "has not been any impact" on the conversion rate from trial to paid subscriptions in vehicles with both factory-installed satellite radio and factory-installed iPod/MP3 player connections compared to new cars with only satellite radio.
He also pointed out that people who have satellite radio in the car spend far more time listening to satellite radio than to other content source when they're on the move. Karmazin pointed to an Arbitron study of consumers, conducted in October and November of 2009. It found subscribers spend 71 percent of their time listening to satellite radio and only 17 percent to terrestrial radio, 7 percent to CDs, and 5 percent to such mobile devices as cellphones.
In other comments, Karmazin said:
•the household penetration rate of satellite radio is about 15 percent of 110 million homes, indicating plenty of potential for growth;
•85 percent of gross adds come from subscriptions in new vehicles;
•60 percent of new cars sold in the U.S. are equipped with satellite radio;
•and opportunities to reactivate the subscriptions of factory radios in used cars will represent a "tremendous opportunity" in about five years because of the growing penetration of factory-installed satellite radio.
Last edited by Sirius Roadkill; 09-16-2010 at 11:52 AM.
Interesting the way Bloomberg tethered Tuna Amobi's past comments to Mel's presentation at BOA yesterday. Although the writer of this piece may have thought he created a great sensationlistic headline . . . the headline is actually bullish for Siri shareholders imo . . . 300,000 sub losses is like taking a pish in Lake Michigan
Do you wonder where Tuna gets his numbers from? Do you think he pulled them out of thin air? Tuna surprise? (I don't think so . . . someone is feeding the Tuna)
Sirius could lose up to 300,000 listeners if host Howard Stern leaves, CEO fears
Bloomberg News · Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010
Sirius XM Radio Inc. chief executive Mel Karmazin said the company may lose subscribers if talk-show host Howard Stern, right, leaves when his contract ends in December. The satellite-radio service provider won't know whether it will be able to renew Mr. Stern's contract until November, he said. Mr. Karmazin spoke yesterday at a Bank of America Merrill Lynch media conference in New York. About 200,000 to 300,000 subscribers might drop out if the shock jock leaves when his five-year, US$500-million contract with Sirius expires, Tuna Amobi, an analyst with Standard & Poor's rating service, said in an interview. As many as two million Stern fans signed up for Sirius in the months before and after the host moved from traditional radio to the satellite service in January 2006, Mr. Amobi estimated..
http://www.nationalpost.com/Sirius+c...394/story.html
Last edited by Sirius Roadkill; 09-16-2010 at 12:04 PM.