Neal Barkett

Sirius Investors Should Note Liberty Media's Conference Call Friday

It will be interesting to see if Maffei expounds on free commercial based radio format for Sirius Xm. He has talked of it before and would like to know if this is something that really has legs. Also I too am wondering about where & when we are going to see some clearity on innovation within the company. I would hope Mel is in that camp, but so far am dissapointed.

Throwing Light on the Sirius XM / Liberty Deal

There seem to be a number of options for both Sirius & Liberty. Makes your head spin. One may be he divested his interest in Direct TV to concentrate on Sirius Xm. He now has a strong position on the board of directors. I'm guessing he sees something very positive that they want to be part of, that we might get a better feel for on May 7th. Of course I'm an optimist when it comes to Sirius Xm. He does seem to have a pattern of wanting some say in his investments but not necessarily wanting to have total control.

A Rare Opportunity to Gain Inside Perspective on Liberty's Sirius Investment

From what I read into the article is Malone saw a very good buy in his industry and scooped it up. He didn't get into any real detail except the positives of a national footprint and its value,but with May 7th around the bend maybe he doesn't want to take away Mel's thunder. But at the same time I think he's being up front in regards to where & how to take Sirius Xm as a whole. He seems to be saying nothing is written in stone yet, but I get the feeling that when decisions are made they will be well thought out. He's very grounded and secure in his thinking.

RBC, Barclays Weigh In on Sirius

s162, MY BAD. Yes it was Feb 26 2008! Sorry.

RBC, Barclays Weigh In on Sirius

Big Ben, Sirus Webcast Report is set for Feb 26th 8:00 am.

RBC, Barclays Weigh In on Sirius

Not looking at things from a tech. side but more from a human side or emotionial perspective. The stock has settled in a little higher from before the liberty news. This stock from its past trading history seems to have people on edge. Good news doesn't neccasarily move the stock upward. Know that the stock is on a more solid footing this is the time to see how management takes advantage of the extra time they have aquired. The only way this stock is going to move up seems to be increasing the Rev. & Profit. It's time for the proof in the pudding. It's not going to happen overnite. I think we all know it's a great product and even though there is a lot of competition it has a very strong niche of it's own that can be expanded. The economy is a huge issue but that's just the way it is. I think we all want to see mngt. think outside the box and see what avenues they will take by using creative & innovative ideas.

RBC, Barclays Weigh In on Sirius

I thought this was interesting. Especially the last few paragraphs. Nice to read some positve takes on Sirius Xm!
Liberty Media Buys Into Sirius XM Radio
Malone Rescues Karmazin's Satellite Radio Vehicle, Acquiring 40% Stake
by Mike Farrell -- Multichannel News, 2/23/2009 12:00:00 AM MT
It turned out that John Malone was a white knight after all.

Sirius XM Radio, desperately trying to fend off bankruptcy and a takeover attempt by Dish Network chairman Charlie Ergen, instead turned to Liberty Media chairman Malone last week, inking a deal that will pump about $530 million into the satellite radio giant's coffers in return for a 40% interest in the company.

The decision to turn to Malone ends what has been weeks of speculation concerning Sirius' fate. Earlier this month, the satellite radio giant struggled to raise $175 million, the amount it owed to Ergen after the Dish Network chairman snapped up Sirius debt through his affiliated companies. In the meantime, Sirius was trying to fight off a takeover attempt from Ergen, who had earlier proposed a $500 million deal for a controlling interest in the company that was rejected by Sirius' board of directors.

With the Liberty deal, Sirius gets more money ($530 million) and has to give up less control (40% of its outstanding equity).

The cash infusion will come in two phases: the first includes a $280 million senior secured loan from Liberty to Sirius, $250 million of which will be funded today. The proceeds of that loan will be used by Sirius to repay $171.6 million of its maturing 2.5% convertible notes due Feb. 17, 2009, and the balance will be used for general corporate purposes, including working capital and transaction costs. The loan will bear interest at a rate of 15%, mature in December 2012, and be secured by the assets securing Sirius' existing term credit agreement.

The second phase provides an additional loan of $150 million to XM Satellite Radio, Sirius' wholly owned subsidiary. Liberty has also agreed to offer to purchase up to $100 million of the loans outstanding under XM Satellite Radio's existing credit facilities from the lenders.

Upon completion of the second phase of the Liberty investments, Sirius will issue Liberty an aggregate of 12.5 million shares of preferred stock convertible into 40% of the common stock of Sirius XM.

Liberty will receive seats on the Sirius board of directors proportionate to its equity ownership. It is expected that Malone and [Liberty CEO] Greg Maffei will join the Sirius XM board. Liberty's obligation to consummate the second phase of its investment is subject to various closing conditions.

Just how Sirius will fit in with Liberty is unclear. As part of Liberty Capital, the 40% Sirius interest will be housed with Liberty's vast minority interests in several diverse companies, including Time Warner Inc. (3%), Viacom (1%) and its 100% stake in the Atlanta Braves major league baseball team. Because federal laws would likely prohibit Liberty's other big satellite holding — DirecTV — from using any of Sirius's spectrum for its own use, a combination of the two would seem unlikely.

”We believe that Liberty views this transaction primarily as an attractive financial investment,” Barclays Capital satellite analyst Vijay Jayant wrote in a research note last week.

Even Maffei, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal last week, was hard pressed to find any benefit in combining Sirius with DirecTV.

“There are few operating synergies,” Maffei told the Journal.

In the end, Sirius may end up being an investment that Malone sells later at a hefty profit — despite its problems, few believe that Sirius is accurately valued at 13 cents per share, its closing price on Feb. 19.

In a research note, Wunderlich Securities analyst Matt Harrigan wrote that Sirius could become a marketing partner along side DirecTV, but seemed to see the deal as more of a financial play for Liberty.

“Liberty is yet again being opportunistic in a distress situation, recognizing that access to capital is what is now relevant rather than uncertain discounted cash-flow valuations,” Harrigan wrote. “We believe that Liberty is getting a 40% equity interest in a viable Sirius XM at a compelling price.”

Sirius: A Deeper Look at the Liberty Deal

Mel of course has his own bucks invested like us. What leverage did he have to get a better deal. He wasn't dealing from a position w/ much strength. Is there anyone here that could of done a better deal? If so tell us how.

Sirius: A Deeper Look at the Liberty Deal

new here, I'm not in the same league w/ some of these very knowledgeable people on this blog. Some of these guys r amazing and good people to boot. You make some great points! Since I leave it to the pros to crunch the numbers I just try to learn. But I am a great fan of SatRad and you make a great case on the product. Now that "some" of the storm has passed I'm hoping they know can focus on there stratagies & marketing. It's been 2 years of just focusing on the merger and avoiding BK. With Malone on board I would think know they can focus more on the synergies of the merger and how to improve the product. I've had Sirius in my car for 3 yrs and still am discovering new channels I've overlooked in the past. The main thing is they r the only radio provider that covers the whole f in country. If they can hold on thru this recession the sky isn't even the limit.