Liberty Tells Regulators It Wants Control Of Sirius

John Malone’s Liberty Media -- the holder of interests in businesses ranging from cable programmer Starz LLC to the Atlanta Braves baseball team -- told US regulators it wants to take over Sirius XM Radio.

Liberty plans to assert control of the largest US satellite radio provider after receiving approval from the Federal Communications Commission. Liberty’s move has fueled speculation Malone wants to spin off his stake in Sirius, led by Chief Executive Officer Mel Karmazin. Liberty will probably execute a so-called Reverse Morris Trust, which involves splitting off its Sirius stake as a separate entity and giving its stockholders the option to hold or sell their Sirius shares.