Sirius XM chief executive Mel Karmazin is reaching out to potential investors. His company has $175 million in debt due Tuesday, and $350 million more due in May. The company has begun to fill out paperwork in the event it needs to seek bankruptcy protection for the satellite radio operator that hosts shock jock Howard Stern.
But Karmazin’s options may be limited.
Any purchase of the nation’s only satellite radio provider would face regulatory scrutiny, analysts said. And in light of the protracted 18-month review of the merger between XM and Sirius by the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department, few investors may want to take on the burden.
According to a source familiar with the matter, Karmazin has been in talks with EchoStar satellite service mogul Charles Ergen, hoping to strike a deal.
Analysts say Sirius’s satellite radio service would complement Ergen’s satellite television service Dish Network. Some have speculated Ergen may be interested in adding Sirius’s spectrum to radio waves it bought in an auction early last year to build out a wireless high-speed Internet network… [read more]
