Everything's Coming Up Rosie at Sirius XM

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Shares of Sirius XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) are racing higher today, and it's not because the satellite-radio operator announced that Rosie O'Donnell will host a morning show that will air exclusively on Sirius and XM.

The real push behind the company's move today is in the debt department. Sirius XM is bumping up its senior secured notes offering from $350 million to $525.8 million, as a result of healthy demand for the company's debt. The new notes will mature in 2013 and give the company the flexibility to pay down its credit facility and other obligations with earlier payoffs.

This is welcome news. If Liberty's (Nasdaq: LCAPA) bailout earlier this year didn't entirely take Chapter 11 bankruptcy off the table, this move should silence the last of the cynics holding Sirius XM tickets in the 2009 deadpool.

However, let's get back to the O'Donnell news, because it's a bigger deal than you might think. Sirius XM approached the occasionally controversial comedian after she appeared on Howard Stern's show. Once Sirius XM conceded to her demand to broadcast the show from her in-home studio, she was on board.

O'Donnell is no Stern. However, her program will give Sirius XM one more host who isn't afraid to be candid on the air. This will be a good thing for the company if it isn't able to get Stern to extend his contract beyond the end of next year. At the very least, it's likely to give Sirius XM another popular show that it can add to its app on Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) App Store, until it finds a way to offer up Stern for iPhone and iPod touch owners.

This was a good day for Sirius XM -- it gets a refreshing double dose of positive news, after the negative fallout over launching its app last week sans Stern.

More news than static on Sirius XM:

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Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz subscribes to both XM and Sirius. He owns no shares in any of the companies in this story and is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Fool has a disclosure policy.

Comments from our Foolish Readers

Help us keep this a respectfully Foolish area! This is a place for our readers to discuss, debate, and learn more about the Foolish investing topic you read about above. Help us keep it clean and safe. If you believe a comment is abusive or otherwise violates our Fool's Rules, please report it via the Report this Comment Report this Comment icon found on every comment.

  • Report this Comment On June 25, 2009, at 3:51 PM, ByrneShill wrote:

    Man, now if anyone can accuse you of bashing SIRI it's gonna be funny.

  • Report this Comment On June 25, 2009, at 4:03 PM, jeffw101 wrote:

    As someone who has a substantial financial and personal interest in SiriusXM, I've always thought Rick's articles on said company have been fair.

  • Report this Comment On June 25, 2009, at 4:08 PM, thadschiele wrote:

    In referrence to Sirius signing Rosie O'donnell, This will be a good thing if Sirius isn't able to sign Stern? Are you idiots? Do you think a single one of Howard's listeners will switch over to O'Donnell instead of following him to another format, if he doesn't retire? Sirius already has, arguably, a better morning show for Howard's demo in Opie and Anthony. Howard''s listeners are much more likely to switch over to O&A if he leaves sirius. O'Donnell might be a big get for Sirius, but it has nothing to do with the listeners they have with Howard Stern,

  • Report this Comment On June 25, 2009, at 4:10 PM, HS850 wrote:

    I agree with Jeffw101, I also think Rick has been fair to Sirius and his articles in February-March were the reason I bought Sirius at $0.16 and have now tripled my money.

    Thanks Rick. Go Sirius!

  • Report this Comment On June 25, 2009, at 4:51 PM, trammen0 wrote:

    The FOOL is crap.....

  • Report this Comment On June 25, 2009, at 7:14 PM, sentinelbrit wrote:

    I have Sirius and I love it! The fact that they have been able to issue these notes gives the company more time to make a success of it. The risk is huge but so is the potential reward. It's the type of stock that you invest in and if it doesn't work out it won't hurt your financial position. If it does work out, it's a nice bonus.

  • Report this Comment On June 25, 2009, at 7:21 PM, TxTom wrote:

    How sweet it is!!!

    I started buying SIRI at 14 cents, and haven't regretted a single block purchase since. I'm the Foolish one for having a substantial part of my investing money in a stock this shaky (according to the pundits), but let's see who get the last laugh on this one.

    Sirius will continue to add programming that people want, and this is like piling onto a team that just proved they can win - even as an underdog. Oh, the stock won't go straight up, but it will continue to gain customers and revenue as we come out of this recession. Look at the car companies that are including this product in their new cars. Soon even rental car companies will start touting the availability of satellite radio in their cars - another edge for some smart businesses.

    New car manufacturers already recognize this, like the TOYOTA CAMRY for example?

    And now Sirius can cover their debt with very healthy demand for their offering?

    Hang onto your SIRI folks. I've said $2 - $3 per share within a year, and I still believe it. This is great news!

    And hey, did I just read a positive article on SIRI for a change? Wow......

    Only in America.

  • Report this Comment On June 25, 2009, at 9:10 PM, WoodyDog1400 wrote:

    I could not have expected more. MF is now ON BOARD with SIRI, 3 days later. 3 day ago you were bashing it like you have been for months.

    Make up your mind. Do you believe in the fundamentals are not? Just take a stance, you would get a lot more respect. But then again, you follow Cramers foot steps...like a fool.

    What will you, I mean Cramer do next??

    Great job Rick. Real journalism at it's best.

  • Report this Comment On June 26, 2009, at 4:21 PM, plange01 wrote:

    sirius radio is great .i always enjoy it when i rent or in a car that has it.the problem is no one really pays to get it and if it cant make money .........

  • Report this Comment On June 26, 2009, at 10:18 PM, streetflame wrote:

    "This is welcome news. If Liberty's (Nasdaq: LCAPA) bailout earlier this year didn't entirely take Chapter 11 bankruptcy off the table, this move should silence the last of the cynics holding Sirius XM tickets in the 2009 deadpool."

    Successfully rolling over lots of debt is good news and will let Sirius survive through 2009. But the fact that they aren't going bankrupt (yet) does not mean they should be a $1.8B company. You might call it cynicism; I call it reality-based investing.

  • Report this Comment On June 26, 2009, at 10:30 PM, streetflame wrote:

    BTW Rick congrats on your progress in CAPS, I see you've almost broken into a positive score. Your picks so far this year have been very good with the exception of shorting PALM too early.

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