XM Satellite Radio has set November 13th for a shareholder vote on approving the pending merger with Sirius – and Sirius shareholders will vote the same day on authorizing enough new shares to make that possible. Of course, those votes mean nothing unless both the FCC and Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) agree to allow the only two satellite radio companies to become one. XM and Sirius had said last month that they believed they had complied with the DOJ’s 2nd request for information, but that apparently hasn’t satisfied the antitrust investigators. "They continue to ask for information," Karmazin was quoted as telling the New York Post this week.
XM shareholders will be voting on whether to merge with Sirius and exchange each share of XM for 4.6 shares of Sirius stock. Strictly speaking, Sirius shareholders will be voting on whether to acquire XM in the stock swap. They will, however, vote on whether to authorize the creation of more than 1.7 billion new shares which will be needed for the stock swap. Sirius is already one of the very few US corporations with more than a billion shares outstanding. After the merger it will have more than three billion shares.
