The XM – Sirius merger will go down in history as the most dragged-out, knuckle-scrapping, merger to ever exist. Why has it taken 17 months for the FCC to come to a decision? Who are they to include a “honey-do-list”. What concerns were involved with the Exxon-Mobil merger in the name of “public-interest”? How does that happen?
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Deborah Taylor Tate ruled in favor of the merger. making it a 3-2 decision in favor of the merger. Xm-Sirius can finally complete the merger and get down to business. Combine forces to offer better programming and equipment to their customers. Both companies have taken quite a beating trying to stay afloat during this period. Combined, the two have lost over $500 million dollar in one year. The FCC has added insult to injury by having XM-Sirius pay $19.7 million to the U.S. Treasury to seal the deal. Let’s not forget the three year price caps that were put in place. The Exxon-Mobil(1999) and the Texaco-Chevron(2001) mergers were never asked to do anything of the sort. Where was the “public interest” concerns during the those hearings? Wait, I forgot…there were no hearings.
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Anyway, as for XM-Sirius, I hope that they can make it though the storm. I’ve been a Sirius subscriber for two and a half years. If I decide that satellite radio is getting too expensive or I don’t like the programming any longer, I don’t have to pay for it. My life is not affected to the extent of not being able to pay my other bills. If I want to drive my car, I have no choice but to pay whatever the price of gas is on that day. It’s a shame what the FCC has done in this situation.
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When the merger was first announced, I bought some shares of Sirius. I played the dips and made money in 2007. In the beginning of 2008 I was down untill the Department of Justice approved the merger. I sold everything and I glad I did. Some people weren’t so lucky they took the ride down and have been stuck there.
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