sl62

Open Letter to Sirius XM Radio

Wow..."You can't be Sirius"...

First, in this case, one cut and paste certainly deserves another (Joe, please read this...below are Mel's credentials--what are yours? Believe it man, he doesn't need your help. In addition, I think he knows a little bit more about radio than you do):

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Mel Karmazin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin (born August 24, 1943)[1] is an American business executive. He co-founded and was the president of Infinity Broadcasting and eventually became the president and chief executive officer of CBS. As of 2008, he is the CEO of Sirius XM Radio.
Born in Manhattan, New York, Karmazin was selling radio ads at the age of 17.[2] He graduated from Pace University with a bachelor's degree in business administration[1] and worked his way up from the bottom rungs of the radio ladder in New York City.

Karmazin presided over New York's WNEW-AM and WNEW for Metromedia when he was approached to run Infinity Broadcasting in 1981. Soon after he would add fellow New York stations WKTU-FM and WFAN into Infinity's stable. WFAN morning talent Don Imus often referred to Karmazin on the air, never by name, but by the nickname "The Zen Master".[3]

Karmazin ran Infinity for 15 years, then sold the company to Westinghouse, then parent of CBS. For most of his career he has been known as a "Wall Street darling" for his ability to drive up the price of his various companies' stock. "The joke about him was that he was so pushy that advertisers used to buy airtime from Mel just to get him out of their office," according to a Fortune magazine article.[2]

When Infinity merged with CBS Corporation in January 1997, Karmazin would first head CBS Radio as chairman and CEO. By May of the same year he would become Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CBS Station Group, overseeing the network's radio and television properties. He served as President and Chief Operating Officer of CBS Corporation from April of 1998 until January of 1999. Viacom, a media conglomerate that includes CBS, UPN, MTV, BET, Comedy Central, Paramount Pictures and Showtime, absorbed CBS Corporation as of 2000.

As an executive of an even bigger conglomerate, Karmazin and Viacom chief Sumner Redstone had many differences, leading to Karmazin's resignation in May 2004.[4] Karmazin later said he didn't get along with Redstone and found it difficult to be "No. 2" at a company, but particularly under Redstone. The two executives continued to snipe at each other through the media even a year after Karmazin left Viacom.[2]

Karmazin accepted the top job at Sirius in November 2004. He was a strong supporter of radio disc jockey Howard Stern at Viacom,[4] and Karmazin joined Sirius Radio after Stern did.

In his first year at Sirius, Fortune magazine reported in November 2005, Karmazin reached deals with Ford and BMW to include the company's radios in their new cars and helped launch Sirius's first portable music player (both initiatives were in the wake of Sirius's rival, XM Radio, pioneering those moves). He also recruited Martha Stewart to Sirius, acquired the programming rights to NASCAR, and raised $500,000,000 in debt financing.[2]

Karmazin has been inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame, the Radio Hall of Fame, a recipient of the National Association of Broadcasters National Radio Award, and the IRTS Gold Medal.

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With all due respect, kt, many of us longs are glad you are not running the company...

Mix in Homer with the rest of Relm, and there you have it. Let's face it, one of the hardest things to watch is a stock freefalling (when you also know you own it and are losing money. As tough as it was at the time to hear Cramer speak the truth about the stock headed south due to the short connected to the financing, he was right on (obviously, he's seen and done it a thousand times--right from the Wall Street 101 playbook). So as Cramer put it, there was no compelling reason for him to recommend the stock (then). He knew it was going to a buck because he knows people. Many of us do not know the same people he knows--who were all privy to "the plan." (Btw, this doesn't necessarily absolve Cramer from guilt of being obnoxious and misleading much of the time). Unfortunately, back then it was hard to hear or to see the bigger picture due to the cloud of uncertainty (as any long watched their portfolio continue to shrivel). As Relm outlines, it has eventually all become clear as to what "the plan" was and is. The last piece of the puzzle was the "after Labor Day" news (lowered guidance). Another sign was Mel's stock purchase @ 1.37. He wants to make some coin on the way back up too, but it just wouldn't look too cool if he bought at the low (and under a buck). Though he knew the stock was going lower briefly, buying when he did was strategic. And it's also easy to see that his "rally" efforts were basically all part of the show--he's (they've) known all along how this was going to go. So my advice for anyone still holding shares is: you own a ticket to an E ride--sit back, chill and enjoy the ride.

As I have said here before, first, it hasn't even been 60 days since the deal was completed--can people give the company a little time to do their thing? Jeez. Second, the plan was set--Mel even said on the Cramer interview, the financing was ugly, but it had to be done. And it as Mel essentially said then too, it was done, but there was already a strategy in place to correct it going forward. Again, please give this company time! They know EXACTLY what they are doing. Do any of you really think they would have done this deal and just "hoped" they wouldn't spiral into BK? Come on, man! If you really do, please read Mel's credentials I have provided above. I'm not here to rip anyone, but if that's case you also have no clue how Wall Street works. Another part of this is that look back at any leveraged buyout or acquisition in history (even all cash deals). The leveraging company always takes a decent hit to their stock price due to the short related to the financing (which acts essentially as further collateral against the debt) (or as in all cash, the hit to their balance sheet--which creates an easy shorting opportunity for the hedges). Wall Street 101. Hang in there longs...TIME is the answer!