Sirius and XM Merge

Sirius and XM Satellite get there approval to merge. Making the one any radio satellite provider in the use.
Antitrust officials said that they saw no reason to block or put conditions on Sirius' acquisition of XM, leaving consumers with a single satellite radio provider. "We determined that we did not have evidence to support a challenge," says Thomas Barnett, who heads the antitrust division.

The announcement boosted XM shares 15.5% to $13.79 and Sirius 8.6% to $3.15.

Now that the Justice Department has stepped aside, Sirius and XM only need to win approval from the Federal Communications Commission before they can close the deal that they struck in February 2007. Both companies are unprofitable and want to cut costs.

The FCC has a broad mandate to ascertain whether Sirius' acquisition of XM would be in the public interest.

The FCC has never rejected a deal approved by the Justice Department, Stifel Nicolaus analyst Blair Levin said in a report, adding, "We don't believe this one is likely to be the first." He says the FCC may take several weeks to reach its decision.

The companies have tried to sweeten their case by agreeing to offer consumers options to order some channels -- including those with risque or offensive material -- on an a la carte basis.