Sirius XM Having Trouble Paying Off Debt

Newly merged Sirius XM Radio said yesterday that it doesn't have enough cash to pay back the $300 million in debt due early next year but that it has not looked into selling its Northeast Washington building to raise money. Chief executive Mel Karmazin, addressing investors at Merrill Lynch's 2008 Media Fall Preview conference in Marina del Ray, Calif., yesterday, said that the credit market crisis has made it more difficult to raise funds but that he is confident that the satellite radio provider will resolve its debt troubles through bank financing. The company has more than $1.1 billion in debt that will come due in 2009, with $300 million in convertible senior notes due in February. Karmazin said the firm has been going through each line of expenses to cut costs and has found $425 million in savings, or $25 million more than previously expected. The savings have come from job cuts among the top executive ranks and sales and marketing staff. Other savings have come from merging programming and general and administrative expenses. Karmazin told analysts that regular radio "sucks" as an investment while the company he heads deserves more respect because of its growth prospects.