The combination of audio entertainment giant Sirius XM Holdings and the Liberty Sirius XM tracking stock group of John Malone’s Liberty Media is complete. The new, consolidated publicly traded company will continue operating under the Sirius XM brand.
Liberty Media, led by president and CEO Greg Maffei and chairman Malone, owned an 83 percent stake in Sirius XM as of July 31. The deal simplifies the ownership structure of SiriusXM (the satellite radio brand is punctuated differently than its parent company) and follows a September proposal submitted by Liberty. Wall Street has long expected that Liberty would ultimately take full control of the audio company, which operates the SiriusXM and Pandora brands.
Just like was the case for the pre-merger Sirius XM, shares of the new Sirius XM will be listed on the Nasdaq stock market under the ticker symbol “SIRI” where they will begin trading on Tuesday. Shareholders of Liberty Sirius XM now own approximately 81 percent of new Sirius, with former Sirius XM minority stockholders holding the remaining 19 percent.
The deal will “allow Sirius XM to enter its next phase of value creation,” CEO Jennifer Witz previously said. “In a highly fragmented audio entertainment industry, Sirius XM has differentiated itself as the leading audio entertainment provider by creating an experience centered on our high-quality, premium, human-curated radio that is more relevant than ever. In doing so, we have built a profitable business that is poised for continued success.” Maffei serves as chairman of the new company.
Among the benefits of the post-deal Sirius XM, according to both companies, is a board comprised of a majority of independent directors, a simplified ownership structure, improved trading liquidity and “access to a broader investor base and expanded opportunities for [stock] index inclusion.”