Liberty Media Officially Becomes Majority Owner Of SiriusXM
January 18, 2013
After months of buying up shares of SiriusXM, Liberty Media has officially become the satcaster's majority owner. Liberty purchased another 50,000,000 shares of SIRI on Tuesday (1/15), which Bloomberg reports gives the private equity firm approximately a 50.5 percent stake in the company.
Liberty now owns 1.99 billion common shares of SiriusXM, along with 1.29 billion convertible shares, according to a Thursday filing. If the converted shares are added to the outstanding shares in the satcaster, it gives Liberty the 50.5 percent majority ownership, according to Bloomberg.
As previously reported, Liberty Media plans to take control of the SiriusXM Board of Directors and choose a new CEO for the company. In December, James Meyer was named Interim CEO, replacing Mel Karmazin.
Earlier this month, the FCC granted approval of Liberty's request to assume SiriusXM's broadcast licenses, a necessary step in Liberty's takeover.