Cowen and Co. analyst Tom Watts says there’s a “high” chance that federal regulators will approve Sirius Satellite’s acquisition of XM Satellite, and says the FCC could give its approval early as October, earlier than the expectations from the companies of a year-end thumbs-up.
“With the FCC’s rebuttal period closed, positive momentum from supporters, and a strong precedent from the Whole Foods merger, we expect FCC approval before Dec. 4, the end of the FCC review period. We believe approval as early as Oct. is possible.”
FCC Chairman confirmed that there will be a vote on the deal in the fourth quarter, according to Orbitcast.
At the same time RBC Capital analyst David Bank said that a deal doesn’t wash away the risks for the nascent market. He said that since there is a better than 50 percent chance of the deal going through, it is “time to take money off of the table” — and he cut his rating on XM’s stock, which traded today at about $14.40 a share on Nasdaq.
“While we see potential upside to $16 should regulatory approval be met and all potential synergies be realized, this is balanced against remaining regulatory risk, and fundamental challenges ahead such as anemic retail demand and upcoming resolution of RIAA arbitration.”
(Photo: Reuters)
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4 comments so far
I do some consulting work with the NAB and fail to see how the Whole Foods/Wild Oats merger is more relevant than the DirectTV/Dish merger that was rejected by the FCC. The bottom line here is that in any industry, a monopoly is never in the best interest of consumers.
- Posted by NabiscoOne satellite company, radio or tv, who serve the public in a better capacity. It would eliminate all of the double programming issues. Pay a smaller amount for programming, reduce costs for the companies and consumer. If they raise prices being a monopoly, then we have other options and they will not be in business long.
- Posted by DarinAre consumer options and diversity of programming the “double programming issues” that you advocate eliminating? Because that’s going to be the net result if the merger is approved.
- Posted by Nabisco[...] opinions have swayed back and forth . And XM’s share chart over the past 6 months mimics a Sine Wave [...]
- Posted by Keep an eye on: Sirius/XM - Mediafile