Sirius Shareholders, Debt-holders Approve Re-Cap

Sirius has received approval on its $1.2 billion re-capitalization and expects the deal to close this week. Part of this deal also provides the company with $200 million in additional funding. Sirius executives said the deal provides the company with a debt-free balance sheet, allowing the satcaster to focus on building subscriber numbers.
“This is a major milestone for Sirius that now enables us to move forward
with a strong balance sheet,” said company President/CEO Joe Clayton.
More than 90% of Sirius debt-holders and stockholders agreed to exchange their debt for common stock, in a re-capitalization that also exchanges the company’s preferred stock for common stock, plus will inject $200 million in new capital from its major financial partners through the sale of newly-issued common stock.
Affiliates of OppenheimerFunds, Blackstone and Apollo have agreed to provide $200 million in additional funds. When combined with existing cash
on-hand, Sirius said the company would have more than $300 million in cash, sufficient to fund the satcaster into the second quarter of 2004. OppenheimerFunds will provide $150 million, and affiliates of Apollo Management, L.P. and The Blackstone Group L.P. will each provide $25 million. UBS Warburg advised Sirius on the transaction.