Sirius-XM hands Liberty $500m
October 11, 2013
By Chris Forrester
North American pay-radio operator Sirius-XM has promised a $500 million pay-cheque to Liberty Media. The cash will come from a $2 billion stock buy-back that Sirius-XM will organise. This is on top of a similar scheme announced a year ago, and which has now been concluded. The new buy-back plan allows for Liberty Media to sell $500 million-worth of shares, after which the John Malone-controlled stake in Sirius-XM will still stand at 52 per cent.
The share buy-back – as far a Liberty’s sale is concerned – must wrap by April 2014. Liberty’s stake will be sold in three segments, of $130 million in November, $270 million in January and another $100 million in April.
Liberty has invested a total of around $1.7 billion into Sirius-XM.