Sirius XM In Bailout Talks with DirecTV to Avoid Bankruptcy

According to sources close to Sirius XM, the company is apparently in talks with DirecTV to save the failing company. If a deal is worked out, the satellite radio company and the largest satellite-TV provider could fend off a costly bankruptcy and a takeover attempt from satellite company, EchoStar - or otherwise known as Dish Network.

"Though the talks between Sirius and Liberty are advanced, a deal remains far from certain. It wasn't clear how much Liberty would be willing to invest in Sirius and whether it would end up with control." Liberty Media Chief Executive John Malone Liberty Media is the parent company of DirectTV as EchoStar is to Dish Network.

There is nearly $180 million in debt due by February 17th, so if something is going to happen it needs to happen this week without question.

Sirius XM stock has plunged down to 7 cents from a 52-week high of 3.89 a share. The stock remains slightly up today as talks with DirecTV continue.

Sirius XM Radio, Inc. is the holding company for two satellite radio services (SDARS) operating in the United States and Canada, Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio. The two parent companies completed their merger (technically the acquisition of XM by Sirius) on July 29, 2008.

On February 19, 2007, Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio announced a merger that would combine the two radio services and create a single satellite radio network in the United States. The merger would bring both companies a total of more than 18.5 million subscribers based on current subscriber numbers on the date of merging.

The proposed merger was controversial because in 1997, the FCC only granted two licenses and, in order to ensure a state of competition, stipulated that one of the holders would 'not be permitted to acquire control of the other.