Liberty Takes Majority Control of Sirius

by Christopher Freeburn | January 18, 2013 10:25 am

Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI)[1]Liberty Media (NASDAQ:LMCAD[2]) has obtained control[3] of Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI[4]).

After acquiring another 50 million shares of the satellite radio company, Liberty now holds 50.5% of Sirius XM’s outstanding shares, Bloomberg noted.

The takeover comes after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted permission for the transfer of broadcasting licenses earlier this month, paving the way for Liberty to take control of Sirius[5].

Sirius satellite radios now come installed in a majority of cars sold in the U.S. Rebounding U.S. auto sales helped boost the company’s share price last year.

In December, the satellite radio company announced plans to repurchase $2 billion in shares and issue a special dividend[6] to return capital to shareholders.

Shares of Sirius XM Radio rose almost 1% in Friday morning trading, while Liberty Media shares gained fractionally.

Endnotes:
  1. [Image]: http://investorplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/SiriusXMLogo.jpg
  2. LMCAD: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=LMCAD
  3. has obtained control: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-18/liberty-gains-majority-control-of-sirius.html
  4. SIRI: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=SIRI
  5. paving the way for Liberty to take control of Sirius: http://investorplace.com/2013/01/whats-next-for-sirius-xm-radio/
  6. repurchase $2 billion in shares and issue a special dividend: http://investorplace.com/2012/12/sirius-xm-announces-2b-stock-buyback-special-dividend/

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