Media Companies Get Some Breathing Room
The New York Stock Exchange has put out a new policy that temporarily lowers the minimum market capitalization requirement for public companies. The move will allow several broadcasters to avoid delisting. A similar move regarding minimum stock price was enacted and then extended by NASDAQ.
The move by NYSE allows companies like Citadel, Emmis, Regent, Saga, and others to maintain their listing status as the economic downturn remains a major factor in the markets. Sirius XM Radio is below the $1.00 minimum price requirement to remain listed on NASDAQ, but moves by the exchanges have essentially put a freeze on any delisting.
Specific to Sirius, the NASDAQ freeze is in effect until the summer. Extensions on delisting would potentially take the company into 2010 before they would have the potential for delisting, and that is only if their price remains below $1. Shareholders have already approved the use of a reverse split, which in effect could bring the company above the delisting threshold. That reverse split authorization expires December 31, 2009.
Media companies have taken a virtual beating across the board. A contraction in advertising has lasted for several months, and while there are some signs that things are reversing, it is not yet to a point where confidence is expressed by the street.
Position – Long Sirius XM
I for one will be dumping Sirius when my current subscriptions expire.
I have a Stiletto 2 and the fact that I will have to pay EXTRA for a basic feature of the unit, wireless internet access, is a deal killer for me.
ANYONE with any of the Stiletto units knows that the satellite reception is NON-EXISTENT indoors and spotty, at best outdoors.
For Sirius to place a premium on their portable unit is the height of arrogance.
Why anyone would pay for a Stiletto now when they can simply use an iPhone and the internet is beyond me.
Mel Karmazan promised no price increases to Congress during the hearing on the merger.
We now know that he was lying.
I got Sirius for one reason, Howard Stern.
The fact that Howard is leaving at the end of his current contract and that Sirius will probably be in bankruptcy shortly,
has pushed me to finally pull the plug on my Sirius subscriptions.
When they expire, I’m done.
Mel, Howard and Sirius management can go pound sand.
If this is how they treat loyal customers, I don’t need them.
Read the website. Renewed subscriptions keep the free internet feed.
imromo24-
Read My Post, I said I will be dumping Sirius when my current subscriptions expire.
PrivateInvestor-
Yes, I have every right to be upset with the slight of hand being done by Sirius.
The Stiletto is useless without Wi-Fi and I’ll be damned if I’ll pay even more to use a product that doesn’t perform as advertised to begin with.
AmenhotepIII-
Expect bankruptcy sometime this year.
It is inevitable.
With the stock sitting at 10 cents, it foolish to believe that Sirius can pull itself out of this.
Grow-up would you? Because you pay a fee, do you believe that you can complain about every little thing? Howard Stern was right to point out that people complain about everything when they pay 48 cents per day! For the cost, SIRI is a good value.
Damn this debt deadline is getting me down, I really want to believe that the current management team is sitting on a miracle that will secure the companies near term future. Then I trust the stock price will take care of it’self. It would really be depressing if the conspiracy theories about Mel’s team going private, using BK, Rsplit, etc to keep the price down and screw the long term investor are true. Guess we don’t have much longer to wait….
Good luck to us all
easy come easy go
—Specific to Sirius, the NASDAQ freeze is in effect until the summer.—-
Tyler, I thought the last rule suspension for trading under a buck by NASDAQ was put out until April 15, 2009. What does the Capitalization requirement have to do with this?? Even at .10 cents Sirius XM is above the 100M requirement. Did they extend the $1 Buck trading rule again?