After struggling through the Sirius XM Satellite Radio could be looking at bankruptcy. The New York Times reports that the company has been working with Joseph A. Bondi of Evercore Partners, and EchoStar, recently acquired the majority of a $300 million tranche of Sirius debt that matures next Tuesday.
Since the news about the debt purchase has emerged, questions have surfaced over whether Mr. Ergen will make a bid to purchase Sirius. The threat of a possible bankruptcy filing could force Mr. Ergen to make a formal offer for the company now if he doesn’t want to go through an auction in bankruptcy court.
It could also compel Mr. Ergen to agree to convert his debt into an ownership stake in Sirius at a higher price than he originally considered.
Ergen is an interesting guy. In addition to being a blackjack cardcounter and former professional poker player, he’s Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation has already filed and has about $7 billion.
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