The combination of audio entertainment giant Sirius XM Holdings and Liberty Sirius XM, the equity-linked group of John Malone’s Liberty Media, has been completed. The new publicly traded combined company will continue to operate under the Sirius XM brand.
Liberty Media, led by President and CEO Greg Maffei and Chairman Malone, owned 83% of SiriusXM as of July 31. The deal would simplify SiriusXM’s ownership structure — the satellite radio brand will be separate from its parent company — and follows a proposal Liberty filed in September. Wall Street has long expected Liberty to eventually take full control of the audio company that operates the SiriusXM and Pandora brands.
Like the pre-merger SiriusXM, the new SiriusXM will be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol “SIRI” and begin trading on Tuesday. Liberty SiriusXM shareholders currently own about 81% of the new Sirius stock, with minority shareholders of the old SiriusXM holding the remaining 19%.
The deal “positions SiriusXM to enter a new phase of value creation,” CEO Jennifer Witts previously said. “In a highly fragmented audio entertainment industry, SiriusXM has differentiated itself as a leading audio entertainment provider by making high-quality, premium, human-curated, radio-centric experiences more relevant than ever. In doing so, we have built a profitable business that is well-positioned for continued success.” Maffei will serve as chairman of the new company.
According to the two companies, benefits to SiriusXM after the acquisition include a majority independent board of directors, a simplified ownership structure, increased trading liquidity, and “access to a broader investor base and expanded index inclusion.”
