I thought there was only one satellite radio service.
BTW just noticed, "loyalty" not "royalty"
Sirius XM in talks with DirecTV
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I thought there was only one satellite radio service.
BTW just noticed, "loyalty" not "royalty"
Reuters.com had just announced that the talks between Sirius/XM and Liberty do NOT involve takeover
Here is the article just posted about this: Liberty talks with Sirius do not involve takeover-source | Deals | Mergers & Acquisitions | Reuters
Here is the article just posted about this: Liberty talks with Sirius do not involve takeover-source | Deals | Mergers & Acquisitions | Reuters
If the talks with Liberty do not include any type of equity stake, the only thing this could mean is DirecTV/Liberty refinancing Sirius XM's debt. I would have thought that the deal would have been for Liberty to buy part/most of Sirius XM, give them some cash to pay off the existing debt, but allow Mel to run the company independent from DirecTV. Strange they would choose to simply refinance their debt. Given their credit history, I would not want to hold a bond belonging to Sirius XM.
I agree with you. It sounds like Echostar's plan is to buy the company out and thats why Sirius/XM is talking with Liberty.
From Liberty Media and Sirius XM reportedly close to deal - Washington Business Journal:
"The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times reported Monday evening that DirecTV's parent, Liberty Media Corp., is close to a deal to invest several hundred million dollars in Sirius XM Satellite Radio Inc.
The action by Liberty Media (NASDAQ: LCAPA) could rescue the New York-based satellite radio company from a Feb. 17 debt deadline. Missing the deadline might cause Sirius (NASDAQ: SIRI) to go into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection."
"The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times reported Monday evening that DirecTV's parent, Liberty Media Corp., is close to a deal to invest several hundred million dollars in Sirius XM Satellite Radio Inc.
The action by Liberty Media (NASDAQ: LCAPA) could rescue the New York-based satellite radio company from a Feb. 17 debt deadline. Missing the deadline might cause Sirius (NASDAQ: SIRI) to go into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection."
I don't see Sirius XM avoiding bankruptcy but like this deal because it means my Sirius XM radio in my new truck may actually last up to the three months free trial period
I am afraid Charlie has out-done D* this time again, forcing LM to lose a lot just to prevent Sirius being taken over by E*. There is no way I would pay Sirius after the free trial unless it is nearly free.
I am afraid Charlie has out-done D* this time again, forcing LM to lose a lot just to prevent Sirius being taken over by E*. There is no way I would pay Sirius after the free trial unless it is nearly free.
I don't see Sirius XM avoiding bankruptcy but like this deal because it means my Sirius XM radio in my new truck may actually last up to the three months free trial period
I am afraid Charlie has out-done D* this time again, forcing LM to lose a lot just to prevent Sirius being taken over by E*. There is no way I would pay Sirius after the free trial unless it is nearly free.
How would they not avoid bankruptcy? Liberty is basically paying off their debt. They have pretty good positive cash flow, outside of the huge debt payments that they have coming up. Under normal circumstances they would be able to refinance it without issue.
Well, if it wasn't before, it's now personal between Malone and Charlie
I smell WAR! Charlie has to be one pissed off dude.
Please, no one is that stupid to "pay off" the loans, it is a loan at 15% interest to stop Sirius from going out of business for now.
Unless there is drastic change of demand out there or a major restructuring, I do not see Sirius surviving, meaning they will go out sooner or later and default on the loans, only at that time LM will be left holding the bags.
The deal is structured such that Liberty gains a 40% stake in the company. They have 18+ million subscribers, all at a minimum of $13 a month. That's a little less than $3 billion a year. Their major expenses consist of content contracts, and now that there is no competition they should be able to hammer all of their partners for lower contracts (NFL and NASCAR can't contract with Apple). If it really came down to it and they absolutely couldn't function as an independent company, Liberty could consolidate Sirius XM with DirecTV and I guarantee make a killing. They would only have the costs of content + the marginal costs of the engineering facilities, but the engineering costs would be shared with DirecTV which would actually be a positive because it would otherwise cost a ton of money for DirecTV to build new uplink facilities.
And I'm not sure what you mean by no one is stupid enough to pay off the loans. I'm not sure if you know how corporate finance works but that's what Liberty has done. They have paid off the bonds that Charlie bought that were due today, plus they're dumping in enough cash to pay off the bonds that are due throughout the end of the year. In turn, this gets Liberty a 40% stake in some very valuable space and ground assets, along with the aforementioned $3 billion a year cash flow.
I for one have been a subscriber since 2003 and paid a few hundred dollars for a lifetime subscription so that's one less paying $13/month
. IHMO a flaw in your logic is that not everyone is on a month to month plan so they're not all paying $13/month, the question is how many are on a discounted plan?I for one have been a subscriber since 2003 and paid a few hundred dollars for a lifetime subscription so that's one less paying $13/month
The flip side is how many are paying for a premium subscription? It's just a rough estimate, nothing scientific.
I hope so. Charlie and Malone have been too chummy. They need to hate each other like Charlie and Murdoch did. Both companies (and customers) will be better off for it if they actually tried to beat each other. Since Malone took over D*, there has been a cease fire in the war.
Thats what im hoping too, allthough Charlie did add some money to his coffers from this deal.
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