Sirius XM, Liberty Media tracking stock deal is completed

The merger of audio entertainment giant Sirius XM Holdings and John Malone's Liberty Media's Liberty Sirius XM Tracking Stock Group has been completed. The new, consolidated, publicly traded company will continue to operate under the Sirius XM brand.

Liberty Media, led by President and CEO Greg Maffei and Chairman Malone, owned an 83 percent stake in Sirius XM as of July 31. The deal simplifies SiriusXM's ownership structure (the satellite radio brand is punctuated differently than its parent company) and follows a proposal Liberty filed in September. Wall Street has long expected Liberty would eventually take full control of the audio company, which operates the SiriusXM and Pandora brands.

As with Sirius XM before the merger, shares of the new Sirius XM will be listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol “SIRI,” where they will begin trading on Tuesday. Liberty Sirius XM shareholders now own about 81 percent of the new Sirius, while former Sirius XM minority shareholders hold the remaining 19 percent.

The deal will “enable Sirius XM to enter the next phase of value creation,” CEO Jennifer Witz said previously. “In a highly fragmented audio entertainment industry, Sirius XM has differentiated itself as the leading audio entertainment provider by creating an experience based on our high-quality, premium, human-curated radio that is more relevant than ever before. In doing so, we have built a profitable business that is poised for continued success.” Maffei is chairman of the board of the new company.

According to both companies, the benefits of Sirius XM following the deal include a board of directors consisting mostly of independent directors, a simplified ownership structure, improved trading liquidity and “access to a broader investor base and expanded opportunities for [stock] Index entry.”