Bit Players XM, Sirius Hold A High-Stakes Merger Game

BIT PLAYERS XM, SIRIUS HOLD A HIGH-STAKES MERGER GAME
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jeffrey H. Birnbaum]
By any conventional measure, the proposed merger between XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio is not a big deal. Both firms are young; XM is barely 10 years old. Revenue for each last year was less than $1 billion, making them bit players in the media world. The only statistic that is remarkable is the size of their net losses: a combined $1.8 billion in 2006. Yet in the Washington area, XM and Sirius are giants. They have spent millions of dollars to gain regulatory approval for their union. And their chief opponent, the National Association of Broadcasters, has spent a small fortune to block it. The reason is an object lesson for the nation's capital: Government has grown pivotal to the business world and, in some cases, its decisions are make-or-break for individual companies or industries.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/24/AR2007072402308.html
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