Liberty Media Corp. intends to strengthen its embrace of SiriusXM satellite radio.<\/p>\n
The Colorado-based Liberty, which is controlled by billionaire John Malone, announced a plan late Friday to offer Liberty common stock to minority shareholders of Sirius XM Holdings in a tax-free deal designed to convert the satellite radio company into a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty. <\/p>\n
The all-stock transaction would be valued at about $10 billion. <\/p>\n
Liberty currently controls about 53% of SiriusXM. <\/p>\n
ON LOCATION: Where the cameras roll <\/p>\n
In a statement, SiriusXM said its board would form a special committee to consider Liberty's proposal. Eddy Hartenstein, the publisher of the Los Angeles Times, serves on the board of SiriusXM. <\/p>\n
SiriusXM also said the deal \"would be conditioned on the approval of both a special committee and a majority of the public stockholders of SiriusXM.\" <\/p>\n
Under the proposal, SiriusXM common stock holders would receive new Liberty Series C shares. Liberty would provide a slight premium -- 4.5% -- over the Friday closing price of SiriusXM. <\/p>\n
The proposed exchange ratio of 0.0760 would value SiriusXM common shares at about $3.68 per share, Liberty said. Current shareholders of SiriusXM would then hold about 39% of the outstanding Liberty common stock. The SiriusXM board members could try to demand a higher price. <\/p>\n
In 2009, Liberty rode to the rescue of then-cash-strapped Sirius subscription radio service during the height of the financial crisis by providing loans of more than $500 million. In exchange for the loans, Liberty received preferred stock in the satellite radio company. In recent years, Liberty has further consolidated its control. <\/p>\n
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Liberty Media seeks full ownership of SiriusXM satellite radio<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Liberty Media Corp. Continue reading