Sirius XM's Fate at Stake in a Radio Cliffhanger

Charles Ergen of EchoStar Communications, the owner of Dish Network, had cleverly bought up $175 million of Sirius XM's debt, knowing full well that the satellite radio company couldn't afford the payments, so he could turn around and try to take control of the company. And the due date is today. But Sirius XM CEO Mel Karmazin is coaxing John Malone of Liberty Media, which owns DirecTV — and who is a fierce rival of Ergen's — to be his white knight and agree to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the company in exchange for several board seats and a minority stake for just under half the company. Even more extraordinary is that Mr. Malone's investment, which could end up costing as much as $450 million, or possibly more depending on how you calculate it, is more than the company's market capitalization — and Mr. Malone isn't getting control.