Liberty Media, SiriusXM Simplify Ownership Structure

RADIO ONLINE | Tuesday, December 12, 2023 | 11:22am CT

SiriusXM

Liberty Media and SiriusXM have entered into definitive agreements whereby Liberty SiriusXM tracking stock group will be combined with SiriusXM to create a new public company, which will continue to operate under the SiriusXM name and brand. New SiriusXM will have a single outstanding series of common stock and is expected to continue to be traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "SIRI."

"We have reached an important milestone in Liberty's ownership of SiriusXM. This combination will create value for all stockholders by eliminating the tracking stock structure, enhancing liquidity and allowing former LSXM stockholders to participate directly in the ongoing performance of SiriusXM," said Liberty President & CEO Greg Maffei.

"SiriusXM commands the largest paid share-of-ear in the car and has proven itself as an incredibly successful and profitable business. We are confident SiriusXM will continue to create value by building on its resilient business model to execute its strategic initiatives. We look forward to remaining meaningfully involved in the business and significant stockholders," he added.

"We are pleased that the Special Committee of our Board of Directors has reached this agreement with Liberty Media, which will allow SiriusXM to enter its next phase of value creation," said SiriusXM CEO Jennifer Witz. "In a highly fragmented audio entertainment industry, SiriusXM has differentiated itself as the leading audio entertainment provider by creating an experience centered on our high-quality, premium, human curated radio that is more relevant than ever."

"The Special Committee of the SiriusXM Board of Directors, along with our independent advisors, has carefully and diligently evaluated Liberty Media's proposal and negotiated this transaction. We believe that the agreement we reached with Liberty Media is in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders," said Eddy Hartenstein, member of the Special Committee and Lead Independent Director of the SiriusXM Board. "With this transaction, SiriusXM will be well positioned to continue creating value for stockholders."

The transaction will result in New SiriusXM being an independent public company, with no majority stockholder, a single class of shares and a board comprising a majority of independent directors.

New SiriusXM will have a simplified ownership structure and benefit from greater strategic flexibility and independence. It also provides New SiriusXM with access to a broader investor base and expanded opportunities for index inclusion. The additional float provided by the transaction is also expected to improve trading liquidity for New SiriusXM stockholders.

The transaction offers all stockholders the opportunity to participate directly in the long-term potential of the leading audio-entertainment company in North America.

Under the terms of the transaction, Liberty will separate LSXM by means of a redemptive split-off of a new subsidiary of Liberty ("SplitCo"), which will hold its shares of SiriusXM and approximately $1.7 billion of estimated attributed net liabilities. Such net liabilities include LSXM's net debt (3.75% LSXMA convertible notes due 2028, 2.75% SIRI exchangeable bonds due 2049 and SIRI margin loan, net of corporate cash)1, as well as other liabilities for transaction fees and expenses, financing fees, litigation related liabilities and other corporate adjustments.

In the split-off, holders of each series of LSXM common stock will receive a number of shares of SplitCo stock equal to the Exchange Ratio, such that LSXM stockholders receive 1 share of New SiriusXM for each share of SiriusXM previously held at LSXM, adjusted for LSXM net liabilities. A wholly owned subsidiary of SplitCo will then merge with SiriusXM, and existing SiriusXM stockholders (other than Liberty Media) will receive 1:1 shares of SplitCo, which will become New SiriusXM. The transaction is intended to be tax-free to LSXM stockholders (except with respect to any cash received in lieu of fractional shares) and SiriusXM stockholders.

The Exchange Ratio will be calculated based on (i) the number of shares of SiriusXM held by Liberty, reduced by a net liabilities share adjustment (the "Net Liabilities Share Adjustment"), divided by (ii) the number of adjusted fully diluted shares of LSXM.

Liberty Media currently holds 3,205.8 million shares of SiriusXM attributed to LSXM. The Net Liabilities Share Adjustment to the Exchange Ratio will be determined as the amount of assumed LSXM net debt (excluding the 3.75% LSXMA convertible notes due 2028), with additional adjustments for transaction fees and expenses, financing fees, litigation related liabilities and other corporate adjustments, divided by the SiriusXM share price of $4.23, which represents the average of the SiriusXM daily volume-weighted average prices over the 20 consecutive trading days ending September 25, 2023, the day before Liberty filed a 13D relating to a transaction.

The adjusted fully diluted shares of LSXM will be calculated based on outstanding LSXM shares at closing, including the dilutive impact of shares underlying the 3.75% LSXMA convertible notes due 2028 and the dilutive impact of equity awards.

If the Net Liabilities Share Adjustment and the adjusted fully diluted shares of LSXM were calculated as of June 30, 2024, the Exchange Ratio is estimated to be approximately 8.4 shares in New SiriusXM for each share of LSXM held.

Pro forma for the transaction, and assuming the adjustment described above, on June 30, 2024, there will be approximately 3,392 million basic shares outstanding of New SiriusXM, of which former LSXM stockholders will own approximately 81% of New SiriusXM, with the SiriusXM minority stockholders owning the remaining 19%.

The transaction has been unanimously approved by Liberty's Board, the SiriusXM Special Committee and SiriusXM's Board of Directors. Greg Maffei is expected to be Chairman of the Board of New SiriusXM. The transaction is expected to be completed early in the third quarter of 2024.