Sirius/XM Merger Officially Approved In Only 493 Days!
The long awaited conclusion of regulatory purgatory that began on February 19, 2007 for Sirius, XM and their shareholders is over. The merger was officially approved when the consent decree was signed moments ago. As advertised, the commission vote fell along party lines with a 3 – 2 split decision.
The definitive agreement indicates that the companies will be combined in a tax-free, all-stock merger of equals. Terms of the deal call for XM shareholders to receive 4.6 shares of Sirius common stock for each XM share held. The transaction is structured as a merger of equals, with Sirius and XM shareholders each owning 50 percent of the combined company.
In a victory for consumers, the content of Sirius and Xm will be joined and in most cases will cost less with a la carte packaging, a revolutionary idea that allows Sirius and Xm listeners to pick and choose the package that best suits their needs. The voluntary concessions include:
- Turning 24 channels over to non-commercial and minority programming.
- Three year price freeze
- Open Access
- A-La-Carte pricing available within 3 months of deal closure
Concessions agreed to as part of the enforcement issues included requirements that the companies:
- adopt comprehensive compliance plans, and take steps to address any potentially non-compliant radios remaining in the hands of consumers;
- in the case of XM, within 60 days of the order adopting the Consent Decree, shut down 50 variant terrestrial repeaters, and shut down or bring into compliance an additional 50 variant terrestrial repeaters;
- in the case of SIRIUS, bring into compliance or shut down up to 11 variant terrestrial repeaters within 60 days of the order adopting the Consent Decree. These terrestrial repeaters were shut off by SIRIUS in October 2006 ; and
- make a voluntary contributions to the United States Treasury of approximately $17 million in the case of XM, and approximately $2 million in the case of SIRIUS.
The FCC will open a new case to look more closely at HD inclusion. Additional concessions were not released at this time.
[ Via Reuters ]
UPDATE:
Sirius closed at $2.25 per share on July 25, and XMSR closed at $9.28 per share. If Sirius and XM close the deal tonight (court is open til 11:00 PM), then the arb spread was $1.08 on XM shares, making for a good trade.
Thinking about it a bit deeper, there are likely a few things that Sirius and XM need to wrap up prior to getting the deal consummated. I think Monday afternoon will be the consummation date.
Position: Long Sirius, XM.
So that was the game … get it out last thing friday .. lol !!!
Congrats All. Thanks Brandon, Tyler et al for being on this thing.
Terry
THANK GOD!
Yeah congrats to all. And thanks to Brandon, Tyler and the gang at SiriusBuzz on giving us long suffering longs a place to vent.
It’s been a long strange trip.
I am sure the rollercoaster ride of being a Sirius shareholder is far from over….but at least the nightmare of MERGER LIMBO is over. FINALLY. Now the playing field between the shorts and longs is level.
Get the true games begin!
Ok…gotta go uncork the champagne now.
Cheers!
Dammmmmmmmmmm about time!!!!!!!!!
I was getting ready to start shooting heroin again!!!
And endeed thanks to Tyler, Brandon, Charles et al.
I need to go out for a (few) drinks now.
Got’er Done!!! Let us pray for no appeal!!!
I think I will wait and see what happens on Monday before I break -out the champagne. I hope we see a big pop in share price , but I will have to see it to believe it!
God dam, Brandon when you were right you are right. You called that approval on a Friday after AH. Hey while you are at it. Will I have another kid and if so will it be a boy or a girl.
Mike H. why, you have another law suit against SIRI you are planning or what. LOL
Thx for the covg.
Now lets celebrate! And tomorrow hope they took my advice on a ticker symbol change!
What does this mean?
“The FCC will open a new case to look more closely at HD inclusion?”
Good news for all of us that love SDARS. Stay tuned to Sirius Buzz.
Tyler, my source in DC tells me they closed at 4:30 today…
Welcome to the possibility of profitability!
Brandon…..
Delaware court open til 11:00 PM is what I understand.
Wait to celebrate? SCREW THAT. This champagne is getting uncorked NOW BABY!
Official Approval is what it was waiting for…and Official Approval was just given. POP!
As shareholders this rollercoaster ride ain’t over…but at least THIS chapter is. So celebration is called for.
Come monday we begin a WHOLE NEW CHAPTER.
Focus will shift from the merger being approved to how much of a pop? Will there be a short squeeze? What will Mel say? What kind of guidance? What new products?
And the shorts and bashers will no doubt regroup and plan a new attack.
The insanity will continue. BUT! The playing field is more equalized now. And THAT is something to CELEBRATE! The dynamics between shorts and longs just changed in a BIG way.
Have a great weekend all.
general court closes @ 4:30, but certain business can happen til 11:00 PM.
Tyler thanks again for all of your help and coverage! What does that mean about $1.08 arb spread. Are Xm shareholders getting 4.6 shares, something more, or something less?
Can the merger opponents sue to stop the merger till 11 pm?
Can I get a T-Shirt w/ the fireworks?! Thanks for your hard work!
Great Job covering this mess Tyler, and Brandon what a call on the after hour announcement. I salute you both, congratulations to all.
Wow…Orbitcast is slooow. He hasn’t even posted one word about the OFFICIAL approval yet.
And I’m surprised that Sirius and XM didn’t have their websites UPDATED IMMEDIATELY with the news. They still have the same “write your congressman” bullcrap up.
You’d think that Mel would have had an updated webpage with cool graphics waiting in the wings.
They’ve got to hit the ground running from the get go. ALOT of damage was done by those who opposed this merger over the past 18 months. Sirius cannot drop the ball now…when it’s finally been thrown to them.
Thanks to Tyler, Brandon and all those who have commented on this website and on SiriusBuzz Radio for helping all of us keep knowledgeable about what has been going on these past few months and for keeping “news” and rumor in prospective. And, everyone’s input has been good group therapy for us all. I hope Mel and all those others who have been working so doggedly to get this agonizing task done are home with their families this weekend getting a long deserved rest after all the necessary paperwork is complete. We are all going to be fine. Let’s all compliment ourselves, as well, and keep the faith in our prospects and not get shaken out of our stock even if the market does not immediately see the potential we see. This is wonderful!
It’s time to get digging!
It’s quite thrilling to think of the idea that once the paperwork is complete and this merger is an absolute fact, that the merged company can come out swinging! They can publicly and forcefully answer their naysayers when they want to, and they can publicize anything they want, when they want. Also, they can let their critics silently fade away without comment if they so choose. They can immediately push their current offerings, or they can wait until a strategic time to get the most bang for the buck with anything new they do. The bottom line is, they will not have to hold their tongues and be victimized just because they are beholden to a small group of people who have decision making power over them. SatRad will be its own boss. With the merger a done deal, they can go out and sell!!!!!!!!!
Thanks also to Charles (I forgot to thank you before – sorry about that!)
Thank God for Republicans!!! 😉
Thanks to Tyler & Brandon, you guys do a great job!! I hope Sirius takes Brandon’s suggestion and changes the stock symbol over the weekend to prevent all the big guys from holding this back with computer trades. Gotta love the Republicans and screw the paid off Democrats.
Let’s not forget that one of the Democrats was honest enough to state his opposition early on while the Republicans postured endlessly for political gain. That one Democrat did not get on a soapbox and milk his position for politican gain. I wanted this deal to happen, but I respect an honest, open disagreement of principals.
Tyler,
In light of recent events, it would be great if you guys could do a special weekend addition of Sirius Buzz Radio. Perhaps whip up a quick polls to gauge interest?
I want to be the first to throw the new company name out there. “SIRIUX SATELLITE RADIO”
(or Siriu-X)
Wouldn’t a case against the FCC have to be filed in the DC Court ?
Tyler and Brandon-
If Monday afternoon turns out to be the consummation time, does that mean that during the trading day Monday, both stocks will still exist and only when the consummation actually takes place do they turn into Sirius stock after the close Monday? If such is the case, on Monday might not Sirius Stock go up on the news of the merger, with XM stock going higher as well because of the arb play? Also, short covering might drive both stocks higher Monday. If all this happens, perhaps there will be a considerable pop on Monday, followed by considerable profit taking on Tuesday. Next week should be interesting.
I think Xirius is better. With a ticker of Xiri or SirX.
Whatever. It’s done.
They spent millions to brand the name “Sirius” and “XM.” I don’t think we will see anything other than one or the other. Although I have been wrong before.
Well as Brandon said on the show the other day, by changing the ticker symbol….it forces all the naked shorts out. In essence it clears the slate…which going forward as a combined company would be a good thing.
Well just got back from having a few tasty micro-brews in the spirit of celebration.
While is true that only God knows what the stock price of these companies are about to do over the next few weeks, it is good to be able to have this part of the issue resolved.
I sure hope Mel comes out swinging next week.
And also would like to thank again the folks I mentioned above and homer985, Newman and crfceo for their unbiased and intelligent contributions to the different forums.
And while I’m still here my fave new simbol is SRXM. I do however like SIXM as suggested by voogru.
BTW- To all who said the merger would never be approved;
KISS MY HAIRY FURRY @SS, J@CKOFFS!!!
Yes, I do have have some anger management issues to deal with…..after all the stuff we been thru, can you blame me???
Let go of that anger. Gooose-FRAH-BAH! Gooooose-FRAH-BAH!
Besides, it’s the shorts turn to be angry. 🙂
As the FCC(soup)nazi would say; NEXT! (finally)
My god I can’t believe it.
I must be dreaming…
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/U.....Buzz-Radio
SIRIUS AND XM CHATROOM OPEN 24/7
Both XM and Sirius are well loved names. No need to lose either. Think Fedex Kinkos. I think they should rename the company XMSirius or SiriusXM. Stock symbol could be XMSI or SIXM.
Tyler and Brandon great job and thank you.
to all of the nah sayers f you
to quote a song I just heard on Sirius from the Greatful Dead
“What a strange long journey its been”
Run Blue Dog Run!!!!!!!
FedEx is dropping the Kinkos name this Fall. Everytime you change your name it costs a lot.
why do i have a feeling the nab still has something up their sleve
congradulations all….thatnks ro siriusbuzz for giving investors something to hold on to in this waiting game of almost 2 years.
ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEA IF WE HAD A MERGE LAST NIGHT? WHAT DOES MONDAY LOOK LIKE? IF THEIR STILL TRADING INDEPENDENTLY I’M GUESSING XM IS GOING TO INCREASE AT A LARGER MARGIN THEN SIRI, IF SO WILL THAT SCREW UP THE 4.6 SHARE RATIO?
1–Can NAB really sue, with main intention of delay of merger decision again(they would lose in court but could stop the new entity for awhile longer?)
2–Part of agreement sounds like they(FCC) will take up HD chip inclusion at another date–With a Democratic Congress and President, and NEW FCC commissioners appointment by Democrats at that point, could they force the HD mandate in then(which would be a disaster but payback politically)
3–Should Mel start to get real loud finally in announcements, agreements, focus, vision etc this week?
4–Dows XM cease to exist on Monday?