Guest SondanXX Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Since a lot of us run with Satellite Radios, I thought this might be of interest. Personally I think it's about time... SIRIUS and XM to Combine in $13 Billion Merger of Equals Provides Consumers with Enhanced Content, Greater Choices and Accelerated Technological Innovation Enables Satellite Radio to Better Compete in Rapidly Evolving Audio Entertainment Industry Extraordinary Value Creation for Shareholders Mel Karmazin to Serve as Chief Executive Officer and Gary Parsons to Serve as Chairman of Combined Company WASHINGTON and NEW YORK, Feb. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- XM Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: XMSR - News) and SIRIUS Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI - News) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement, under which the companies will be combined in a tax-free, all-stock merger of equals with a combined enterprise value of approximately $13 billion, which includes net debt of approximately $1.6 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, XM shareholders will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 4.6 shares of SIRIUS common stock for each share of XM they own. XM and SIRIUS shareholders will each own approximately 50 percent of the combined company. Mel Karmazin, currently Chief Executive Officer of SIRIUS, will become Chief Executive Officer of the combined company and Gary Parsons, currently Chairman of XM, will become Chairman of the combined company. The new company's board of directors will consist of 12 directors, including Messrs. Karmazin and Parsons, four independent members designated by each company, as well as one representative from each of General Motors and American Honda. Hugh Panero, the Chief Executive Officer of XM, will continue in his current role until the anticipated close of the merger. See remainder of article here.. Sirius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 I bet it gets shot down because it would create a monopoly. :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Bling Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 I bet it gets shot down because it would create a monopoly. :unsure: I don't think so. Sirius-XM probably won't be considered a monopoly because it still has serious competitors out there in the form of AM/FM radio and now HD-FM. Plus, not everybody out has Satellite radio. You also have CDs, MP3 players, etcs. My two biggest concerns are this: 1) The price better not go up. 2) Sirius better remain commercial free. If either one of these two things change, I'll probably cancel my Sirius subscription. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 I bet it gets shot down because it would create a monopoly. :unsure: I don't think so. Sirius-XM probably won't be considered a monopoly because it still has serious competitors out there in the form of AM/FM radio and now HD-FM. Plus, not everybody out has Satellite radio. You also have CDs, MP3 players, etcs. My two biggest concerns are this: 1) The price better not go up. 2) Sirius better remain commercial free. If either one of these two things change, I'll probably cancel my Sirius subscription. I have Sirius subscription. I dont see how this merger is a good thing for the consumer, and I think it is almost guaranteed that the price will go up if they are not competing against each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Motor_Ref Posted February 20, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted February 20, 2007 I bet it gets shot down because it would create a monopoly. :unsure: I don't think so. Sirius-XM probably won't be considered a monopoly because it still has serious competitors out there in the form of AM/FM radio and now HD-FM. Plus, not everybody out has Satellite radio. You also have CDs, MP3 players, etcs. My two biggest concerns are this: 1) The price better not go up. 2) Sirius better remain commercial free. If either one of these two things change, I'll probably cancel my Sirius subscription. I have Sirius subscription. I dont see how this merger is a good thing for the consumer, and I think it is almost guaranteed that the price will go up if they are not competing against each other. I can't help but wonder how much the payoff will be to the so-called regulators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinyminds Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 About time. If I hadn't prepayed years of XM I would have swtiched to sirius a long time ago =P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Nicole Posted February 20, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted February 20, 2007 Well hopefully the XM folks will FIX THE SIRIUS WARRANTY DEPARTMENT!!! Like when you buy a new receiver FROM SIRIUS and THAT department can see you bought if from them but - oh how convienent - the warranty department HAS NO RECORD OF THE PURCHASE??? Sorry - TINY little rant slipped out there! After much time on hold and several faxes I proved to them them that yes I really am your customer!! :rolleyes: I don't know how I feel about the merger - I just hope it doesn't change the price or service. I'm with MFP - I will quit them but I don't want to have to... My 2 hour commute turns to torture when it's 'regular' radio.... <_< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobie1dog Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Bought Sirius for my wifes car and it's always had fuzziness to it and I've had it back at the shop several times and it never goes away. But the biggest complaint is that I can listen to a song in the morning and on the way home in the afternoon hear the same song.....totally rediculous. There are hundreds of songs they could play without repeating a song within the same week even. :unsure: <_< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VFR79 Posted February 20, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted February 20, 2007 We listen to XM at work and it's almost the same way with the repeat songs. Decent selection of artists, but they play the same songs from those artists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Bling Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Here's an interesting article that has some good info on the merger: Top 10 things you might not know about the Sirius XM merger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 I've had Sirius in my car for over a year. I really like it but I could live without it. My wife wanted one so I got it for her about a month ago and just had the car unit installed in her Accord. If the merger/buyout goes thru, I hope the combined company is more like Sirius than XM, mostly because I'm selfish and I like what I have now. I'm sure some channels will be dropped b/c I know there are many that are alike between the 2 services. They've both lost so much money, maybe they think together they can make a profit instead of competing against each other. I don't care about the transaction too much, but I'm with those above who say the price had better not go up. Song selection on the 'hits' stations is a joke. Just like commercial radio, they play the same artists and songs all the time. I can't stand most hiphop, so of course the main 'hits' station plays it about 1/2 the time. Well, at least there are tons of other Sirius stations playing music that doesn't all sound the same! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Nicole Posted February 20, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted February 20, 2007 Song selection on the 'hits' stations is a joke. Just like commercial radio, they play the same artists and songs all the time. WHAT??? :unsure: You don't like Justin Timberlake?? :blink: over and over and over and OVER!!! :goofy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 I hadn't really put too much thought into pricing... :unsure: But, I find I'm now wondering what they mean by allowing users to "pick and choose" on an a la carte basis... hmmmm... sounds alot like Brighthouse offering the "Digital Combo" variations here lately... I listened to the 500 this weekend on Sirius and while I felt it was LOADED with commercials, the ability to listen to driver communications was pretty cool and kept my interest throughout the race... I'm not a big NASCAR fan, but I'll probably watch more races this year because of it... now if they'd only add some Motorcycle races... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VFR4Lee Posted February 21, 2007 Share Posted February 21, 2007 They're both losing big money, and that can't go on forever. :warranty: Seems to me paid radio at, what $13?, per month is a tough sell what with free radio, CDs, IPods, and all the other "stuff that goes in your ear" competing. Their words as I recall from the news, I guess they weren't thinking Q Tips or fingers. :D I haven't bought satellite radio, feel no need. Seems to me they paid Howard Stern WAY TOO MUCH money. :goofy: But I'm no fan of his anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vfr781 Posted February 21, 2007 Share Posted February 21, 2007 Yes, this was more about both competing companies losing lots of money more than any kind of improvement for consumers. Just so they still have the Sirius 80's hair band station! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest COTU Posted February 21, 2007 Share Posted February 21, 2007 Song selection on the 'hits' stations is a joke. Just like commercial radio, they play the same artists and songs all the time. I can't stand most hiphop, so of course the main 'hits' station plays it about 1/2 the time. Well, at least there are tons of other Sirius stations playing music that doesn't all sound the same! That's why it's the "hits" station. There are only so many current hits, and with about twice as many songs being played per hour compared to FM, it does "seem" to repeat more. All you really have to do is select one of the other channels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest COTU Posted February 21, 2007 Share Posted February 21, 2007 Seems to me they paid Howard Stern WAY TOO MUCH money. :goofy: But I'm no fan of his anyway. Over 5 million people have signed up since his move to Sirius. 5 million x $13 per month x 60 month contract = 3.9+ Billion dollars (and that's if no more subscriptions are sold.) Sirius only paid Stern 500 million. Any business deal that pays for itself in less than a year and ends at 8 fold compared to the investment is CHEAP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 21, 2007 Share Posted February 21, 2007 Seems to me they paid Howard Stern WAY TOO MUCH money. :goofy: But I'm no fan of his anyway. Over 5 million people have signed up since his move to Sirius. 5 million x $13 per month x 60 month contract = 3.9+ Billion dollars (and that's if no more subscriptions are sold.) Sirous only paid Stern 500 million. Any business deal that pays for itself in less than a year and ends at 8 fold compared to the investment is CHEAP. Couldn't have said it better myself. I have had both xm and sirius and I love sirius. XM started playing commercials on some of the music channels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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