Equals??

For fucksakes - why?? How?? Incompatible equipment... competing radio shows... they can't keep everything, right? And whatever happened to monopoly laws??

... I'm canceling!!!

Didnt the FCC already shoot this down before?

Don't have a cow, man. Pop in a Frank Sinatra cd and relax.

JEEZ!! NOW the headline says "Sirius plans to buy XM in $4.6 billion stock deal" -- that doesn't even make sense to me... Sirius stock is less than $4/share, and XM stock is at $14/share. How does the little guy "buy" the big guy??

Exactly Geoff. That is why Sirius stock, in my opinion, will never go anywhere. I origianlly bought shares of that comapny at like $3.25 a share. When they talked about signing Imus and were close to it, the stock went to $7.00. I sold. Then when they officially signed Imus they gave him something like 25 million shares ! The stock fell out of bed. And not to mention all these big contracts with other guest hosts. Then talking about aquiring a company like XM.

Yet you don't pick up the papers and read about them signing exclusive deals with car manufacturers anymore. I can't remember the last time that they signed an exclusive deal with a car manufacturer. To me, that's how you make your subscrition numbers go up which translates to profits which translates to higher stock prices and eventually dividends. They spend more than they bring in.

It's a dog.





Don Cardi

well, GM is trying to buy out daimler, which means if they do, they have even more major companies under their hand

How does the little guy "buy" the big guy??

Exactly Geoff. That is why Sirius stock, in my opinion, will never go anywhere. I origianlly bought shares of that comapny at like $3.25 a share. When they talked about signing Imus and were close to it, the stock went to $7.00. I sold. Then when they officially signed Imus they gave him something like 25 million shares ! The stock fell out of bed. And not to mention all these big contracts with other guest hosts. Then talking about aquiring a company like XM.

Yet you don't pick up the papers and read about them signing exclusive deals with car manufacturers anymore. I can't remember the last time that they signed an exclusive deal with a car manufacturer. To me, that's how you make your subscrition numbers go up which translates to profits which translates to higher stock prices and eventually dividends. They spend more than they bring in.

It's a dog.





Don Cardi

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sirius Satellite Radio (Nasdaq:SIRI - news) and XM Satellite Radio (Nasdaq:XMSR - news) expect to offer a lower-priced package consisting of fewer channels after the companies combine, Sirius said on Wednesday.

The combined company will provide programming choices on a "more a la carte basis," including tiers of service both higher and lower than the $12.95 per month each company currently charges, Sirius said.

"After the merger, customers may elect to receive fewer channels at a monthly price lower than $12.95; substantially similar programming at the existing $12.95 price; or more channels ... at a modest premium to the cost of one service, and considerably less than the cost of subscribing to both services," Sirius said in a federal filing.

The price of the services, which offer music, talk, news and sports channels, has been a much argued topic during U.S. regulatory hearings over Sirius' proposed acquisition of XM.

Sen. Herb Kohl, chairman of the U.S. Senate's antitrust subcommittee, on Tuesday expressed doubts about whether regulators should approve the deal. The Wisconsin Democrat said the combination may be "a fabulous monopoly" for Sirius and XM, and "a real bad deal for consumers."

Responding to Kohl's comments, Sirius Chief Executive Mel Karmazin promised lawmakers that the company would not raise prices. Kohl and Karmazin made their comments during a hearing before the Senate antitrust subcommittee.

The proposed deal values XM at $4.1 billion, based on Tuesday's closing price for Sirius of $3.31 per share on Nasdaq and XM's 268.5 million outstanding shares.

Shares of XM and Sirius were fractionally higher in early Nasdaq trade.

By Peter Kaplan and Randall Mikkelsen) 52 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sirius Satellite Radio's $4.59 billion purchase of rival XM Satellite Radio was given antitrust clearance on Monday as the Justice Department concluded consumers have many alternatives, including mobile phones and personal audio players.

The deal, announced in February 2007, would combine the only two providers of satellite radio in the United States and is still being reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission.

"Competition in the marketplace generally protects consumers and I have no reason to believe that this won't happen here," Justice Department antitrust chief, Thomas Barnett, told a conference call with reporters.

The traditional radio industry, consumer groups and some U.S. lawmakers had criticized the deal as anticompetitive.

The FCC must determine whether the XM-Sirius is in the public interest, and whether to enforce its 1997 order barring either satellite radio company from acquiring the other.

A source at the FCC said FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has yet to make a proposal either approving or opposing the XM-Sirius combination, but has asked the agency's staff to draft documents for different possible outcomes.

This source said the FCC could be strongly influenced by the Justice Department accepting the satellite radio companies argument that they face stiff competition from traditional AM/FM radio, high-definition radio, MP3 players and audio delivered by mobile phones.

"I think it would be hard to go in the complete opposite direction (from the Justice Department)," said the source.

The companies have disputed the idea that the FCC's 1997 order would prohibit their merger.

Analysts expressed optimism of FCC approval, although some said the agency might impose conditions on the deal.

"We all along thought the probability was better than 50 percent that the deal would get through. Now it's past DOJ, and we feel pretty optimistic it will get through the FCC," said David Bank, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets.

The long-awaited decision sent shares of XM and Sirius sharply higher.

XM stock ended up 15.5 percent to $13.79, while Sirius closed up 8.6 percent to $3.15, both on Nasdaq. At that price for Sirius' stock, the deal, in which 4.6 shares of Sirius are to be exchanged for each XM share outstanding, is worth $4.59 billion.

Sirius and XM, which are losing money, currently charge subscribers about $13 a month for more than 100 channels of news, music, talk and sports.

The Justice Department's decision provoked immediate criticism from a key lawmaker in Congress, Senate antitrust subcommittee chairman Sen. Herb Kohl, a Wisconsin Democrat.

Kohl took the department to task for "failing to oppose numerous mergers which reduced competition in key industries, resulting in the Justice Department not bringing a single contested merger case in nearly four years."

"We urge that the FCC find the merger contrary to the public interest and exercise its authority to block it," Kohl said in a statement.

Sirius and XM said in a brief statement that they had received antitrust clearance and that their deal was still subject to FCC approval.

(Additional reporting by Diane Bartz; editing by Tim Dobbyn)

JEEZ!! NOW the headline says "Sirius plans to buy XM in $4.6 billion stock deal" -- that doesn't even make sense to me... Sirius stock is less than $4/share, and XM stock is at $14/share. How does the little guy "buy" the big guy??