Sirius: ‘Positive implications’ in DoJ delay

Sirius satellite radio boss says the merger decision delay doesn’t mean bad news.
Mel Karmazin, talking at a Bear Stearns media event, said the long delay in the DoJ/FCC decision-making process was not necessarily bad news. This was not a complicated decision for the DOJ, he said, and while there has been delays, Sirius believes that this has positive implications. If the DOJ believed that the market was limited to satellite radio, they would have denied the merger long ago, he argued.

Karmazin pointed to the recent DirecTV-Liberty transaction, where the FCC and DOJ announced their decisions simultaneously. Although the DOJ has been virtually silent for some time now, Karmazin stated that the momentum has picked up at the FCC. Hence it is likely that the two agencies may announce the decision at around the same time.

He did not rule out concessions having to be made, so long as the fundamental model is not adversely impacted. Karmazin did not view spectrum divestiture as being in the consumer’s interest.