The merger between satellite radio companies Sirius and XM might not occur, after Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin said to shareholders that regulators are unlikely to approve it.
On Wednesday, senate subcommittee on antitrust, competition policy and consumer rights chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI), concluded that satellite radio was its own market and a merger to consolidate the industry’s two biggest players would mean there was no competitive alternative.
In response to Kohl’s comments, Karmazin said that the proposed merger between Sirius and XM is a major “uphill battle”, with Wall Street estimating that there is an “80% likelihood that the merger is not going to happen”.
However, there was some support for the merger from the board of directors of The Latino Coalition (TLC) who said that the merger is beneficial to the satellite radio industry.
According to reports, by the end of March, Sirius and XM had spent a combined $13 million on the merger.
Related Links
