Sirius XM the Result of XM-Sirius Merger
Sirius Satellite Radio, XM Satellite Radio complete merger.
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/29/2008 11:14:00 AM
Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio said Tuesday that they completed their merger, with Sirius XM the new name of the combined company.
The company said it starts with 18.5 million subscribers and still expects to save $400 million in 2009 from the "synergies" of the combination, with adjusted earnings (EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, debt and amortization) of more than $300 million.
The company's corporate headquarters remain in New York and XM, still a wholly owned subsidiary, will remain in Washington, D.C.
The new stock symbol is SIRI.
The Federal Communications Commission approved the merger late Friday with a bunch of conditions including a la carte and family-friendly programming options, interoperable radios, a price cap and spectrum carve-outs for independent programmers.
