Karmazin: Sirius Interested In Merger With XM

Mel Karmazin

In an interview with SMART MONEY magazine, SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO CEO MEL KARMAZIN hinted again at the possibility that his company might pursue a merger with rival XM SATELLITE RADIO. 

In the interview, KARMAZIN tells reporter DYAN MACHAN, "Mergers often lead to creating shareholder value. I've always been open to that." But unlike an earlier comment that hinted at his interest in XM but noted the existence of substantial regulatory hurdles, KARMAZIN this time indicated that he does not think regulatory restrictions continue to pose such problems for a possible merger. "I personally believe regulatory agencies are not a problem," KARMAZIN said. "If there's an iPOD with terrestrial radio, it's hard to believe government is worried about two satellite radio companies combining."

...it's hard to believe government is worried about two satellite radio companies combining.

KARMAZIN also declined to explicitly set a date for a consumer price hike, but noted that the addition of NASCAR is coming in JANUARY and "we have a great opportunity to increase our pricing, but I can't say when." He also pointed to the addition of real-time traffic as one new technology coming for the company. 

Read the interview by clicking here.

« see more Net News