Quick Take: Clear Decision for Satellite Radio (CCU, SIRI, XMSR)

Quick Take: Clear Decision for Satellite Radio

Yes, satellite-radio watchers, there is a radio-industry courtship longer than the seven-month engagement between Sirius (Nasdaq: SIRI ) and XM (Nasdaq: XMSR ) . Clear Channel (NYSE: CCU ) shareholders finally agreed on a $19.5 billion deal that will cash out the terrestrial giant. The buyout was first announced 10 months ago, probably around the time that Guglielmo Marconi was fiddling around with the radio.

This is what bugs me, though. The hangup for Clear Channel hasn't been regulatory approval. Price proved to be the sticking point, ultimately bumped to $39.20 per share in cash with a little stub equity kicker to placate tight-gripped shareholders.

Obviously, this isn't a combination of two different companies, so the same antitrust rules don't apply, but why is everyone raising a stink about XM and Sirius combining in a deal valued at less than $10 billion? That is half the market valuation behind Clear Channel's exit.

The circumstances are obviously different, but it's clear that XM and Sirius have plenty of valuable competition in attracting eardrums.

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XM is a former recommendation of the Rule Breakers growth-stock subscription service. The newsletter has a pretty decent singing voice, besting the S&P 500 since its inception. Want to take it to the karaoke bar for a few weeks? Go for it with a free 30-day trial subscription.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz is such a big satellite-radio fan that he subscribes to both XM and Sirius. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. He is also a member of the Rule Breakers analytical team, seeking out the next great growth stock early in its defiance. The Fool has a disclosure policy.

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