FINALLY..........

Like the merger or hate the merger of XMSR and SIRI, there is no way that it should have taken 16 MONTHS for this deal to be approved or rejected by the Justice Department and the FCC. It's a crystal clear example that there is way too much special interest lobbying and political interference going on inside government circles. That sound clichéd but it's accurate.

M and A business deals should be decided on the merits alone. Either it benefits the consumer or it doesn't. This one had some legal complexities given their unique industry and charters but still......16 months to make a decision!

I'm no big fan of Howard Stern but I admire his business savvy and have to almost agree with his opinion on this one.

"Sirius Satellite Radio host Howard Stern supports the merger of his network with XM Satelitte Radio and is fuming at Democratic opposition on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) panel.

After FCC commissioners announced they have reached a deal to approve the merger of Sirius (NASDAQ:SIRI) and XM (NASDAQ:XMSR), Stern ranted about Democrats’ ‘gangsterism’ and ‘communism’ and the obstacles to the merger.

Stern described a phone conversation he had with his agent, who he described as a “liberal Democrat kind of guy.”

“I go, ‘That’s it!’” Stern said. “[I] go, ‘You know what Don, I’ve voted Republican and I’ve voted Democrat. I have vowed I will never vote for a Democrat again. I don’t give a [expletive] – no matter who they are. I don’t care if God becomes a Democrat.’ I said, ‘I backed Hillary Clinton, I backed Al Gore, I backed John Kerry. I am done with them.’”

Stern took it a step even further and called Democrats on the FCC “communists” and referred to their tactics as “gangsterism.”

“The fact that these Democrats on the FCC are communists,” Stern said. “They’re for communism. They don’t want to see companies – this is gangsterism. I said, ‘This is crazy.’”

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Feds OK satellite radio merger

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators have formally approved the merger of the nation's only two satellite radio operators, ending a 16-month-long drama closely watched by Washington and Wall Street.

Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.'s $3.6 billion buyout of rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. will mean 18 million-plus subscribers will be able to receive programming from both services. Executives say it will mean huge cost savings that will lead to a first-ever profit for the relatively nascent industry.

The Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 to approve the buyout with the tie-breaking vote coming when the companies agreed to pay $19.7 million to the U.S. Treasury to settle FCC rule violations.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/...approval_N.htm