UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No.)

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NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
TO BE HELD ON THURSDAY, MAY 27, 2010

 

 

To our Stockholders:

 

You are cordially invited to attend our Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which will be held on Thursday, May 27, 2010, at 9:00 a.m., New York City time, in The Auditorium at The Equitable Center, 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York 10019. The annual meeting is being held to:

 

1. Elect the eight directors listed herein.

 

2. Approve a short-term stockholder rights plan (the “Rights Plan”) designed to preserve certain potential tax benefits to the company.

 

3. Extend for one more year our board of directors’ authority (through the approval of an amendment to our certificate of incorporation) to (i) effect a reverse stock split of our common stock by a ratio of not less than one-for-two and not more than one-for-twenty-five, with the exact ratio to be set at a whole number within this range to be determined by our board of directors in its discretion, and (ii) reduce the number of authorized shares of our common stock as set forth in the proxy statement. Approval of this proposal would extend previous authority for a reverse stock split and reduction in shares that was approved at our 2009 annual meeting.

 

4. Ratify the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accountants for 2010.

 

5. Transact any other business that may properly come before the meeting and any adjournments thereof.

 

Only stockholders of record at the close of business on April 5, 2010 are entitled to vote at the annual meeting. A list of stockholders entitled to vote will be available for examination for the ten days prior to the annual meeting, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., New York City time, at our offices at 1221 Avenue of the Americas, 36th Floor, New York, New York 10020.

 

Whether or not you expect to attend in person, we urge you to vote your shares via the Internet, by phone, or by signing, dating, and returning the enclosed proxy card at your earliest convenience. This will ensure the presence of a quorum at the meeting. If you wish to vote your shares by mail, an addressed envelope for which no postage is required if mailed in the United States is enclosed.

 

Voting over the Internet or by telephone is fast, convenient, and your vote is immediately confirmed and tabulated. By using the Internet or telephone, you help us reduce postage and proxy tabulation costs. If you received a paper copy of the proxy materials, please do not return the enclosed paper ballot if you are voting over the Internet or by telephone.

 

If You Plan to Attend

 

Please note that space limitations make it necessary to limit attendance to stockholders. Admission to the meeting will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Stockholders holding stock in brokerage accounts (“street name” holders) will need to bring a copy of a brokerage statement reflecting stock ownership as of the record date to enter the meeting. Cameras, recording devices and other electronic equipment will not be permitted in the meeting.

 

By Order of the Board of Directors,

 

 

PATRICK L. DONNELLY

Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

 

New York, New York

April 21, 2010

 

Table of Contents

 

 

 

PROXY STATEMENT

 

 

This proxy statement contains information related to the annual meeting of stockholders of Sirius XM Radio Inc. to be held on Thursday, May 27, 2010, beginning at 9:00 a.m., New York City time, in The Auditorium at The Equitable Center, 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York 10019, and at any postponements or adjournments thereof. This proxy statement is being distributed or made available, as the case may be, to stockholders on or about April 21, 2010.

 

A copy of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, except for exhibits, will be furnished without charge to any stockholder upon written request to Sirius XM Radio Inc., Attention: Corporate Secretary, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, 36th Floor, New York, New York 10020.

 

At our annual meeting, stockholders will act upon the matters outlined in the Notice of Annual Meeting, including:

 

 

An affiliate of Liberty Media Corporation owns all of the outstanding shares of our Series B-1 Preferred Stock. That holder of the Series B-1 Preferred Stock does not have the right to vote with the holders of our common stock and the holders of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock to elect the Common Stock Directors at the annual meeting. Instead, the Series B-1 Preferred Stock is entitled to designate and elect members of our board of directors proportional to its interest in the company (the “Preferred Stock

Directors”). John C. Malone, Gregory B. Maffei and David J.A. Flowers were elected to our board of directors in 2009 as Preferred Stock Directors.

 

At the annual meeting, management will also report on our performance and respond to questions from stockholders.

 

Each holder of our common stock is entitled to one vote per common share on all matters to be acted upon at the annual meeting and the holder of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock is entitled to 1/5 of a vote per share of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock on all matters to be acted upon at the annual meeting. Holders of our common stock are also entitled to vote separately as a class to approve the amendment to our certificate of incorporation.

 

The holder of our Series B-1 Preferred Stock does not have the right to vote with the holders of our common stock and our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock to elect the Common Stock Directors at the annual meeting. On all other matters submitted to a vote of the holders of our common stock, the holder of our Series B-1 Preferred Stock is entitled to slightly less than 207 votes per share of Series B-1 Preferred Stock, voting together with the holders of our common stock and our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock as a single class. On the record date, 3,885,488,043 shares of our common stock were outstanding. In addition, 24,808,959 shares of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, representing aggregate voting power of 4,961,792 shares of common stock, and 12,500,000 shares of our Series B-1 Preferred Stock, representing aggregate voting power of 2,586,976,762 shares of common stock, were outstanding.

 

As of the Record Date, holders of our common stock and our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock held approximately 60% of the general voting power, and holders of our Series B-1 Preferred Stock held approximately 40% of the general voting power. General voting power refers to all securities entitled to vote at the annual meeting. With respect to an individual proposal, voting power refers to all securities entitled to vote on the proposal.

 

Assuming the presence of a quorum, the eight Common Stock Directors who receive the most votes from the holders of shares of our common stock and our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock for their election will be elected. That is the affirmative vote of a plurality in voting power of our common stock and our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock voting together as a single class, present, in person or by proxy and entitled to vote is required for the election of the Common Stock Directors. Abstentions and broker non-votes will have no effect on the outcome of the elections.

 

The affirmative vote of a majority in voting power of our common stock, our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and our Series B-1 Convertible Preferred Stock, voting together as a single class, present, in person or by proxy, and entitled to vote is required for the approval of the Rights Plan and to act upon any other matter that may properly come before the meeting. Abstentions will have the same effect as negative votes and broker non-votes will have no effect on the outcome.

 

Approval of an amendment to our certificate of incorporation to effect a reverse stock split of our outstanding common stock at a ratio of not less than one-for-two and not more than one-for-fifty, with the exact ratio to be set at a whole number within this range to be determined by our board of directors, together with the reduction in the number of authorized shares of our common stock as set forth in Item 3 below, requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the voting power of our common stock, our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and our Series B-1 Preferred Stock, voting together as a single class, and a majority of holders of our common stock, voting as a separate class. Abstentions will have the same effect as negative votes.

 

The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of our common stock, our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and our Series B-1 Preferred Stock, voting together as a single class, present, in person or by proxy, and entitled to vote on the proposal is required to ratify the appointment of KPMG LLP as

our independent registered public accountants and to act upon any other matter that may properly come before the meeting. Abstentions will have the same effect as negative votes.

 

We will announce preliminary results at the annual meeting. We will report final results in a Current Report on Form 8-K shortly after the meeting.

 

Subject to space availability, all stockholders as of April 5, 2010 (the “Record Date”), or their duly appointed proxies, may attend the meeting. Since seating is limited, admission to the meeting will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration and seating will begin at 8:30 a.m., New York City time.

 

The presence, in person or by proxy, of the holders of a majority of the voting power of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock, our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and our Series B-1 Preferred Stock entitled to vote at the annual meeting is necessary to constitute a quorum to transact business. In addition, the presence, in person or by proxy, of a majority of the voting power of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock entitled to vote at the annual meeting is necessary to constitute a quorum to transact business with regards to the proposal amending our certificate of incorporation. If a quorum is not present or represented at the annual meeting, the stockholders entitled to vote thereat, present in person or by proxy, may adjourn the annual meeting from time to time without notice or other announcement until a quorum is present or represented. Abstentions and broker non-votes are counted as present for purposes of determining a quorum.

 

Brokers who hold shares on behalf of their customers have the authority to vote on certain proposals when they have not received instructions from beneficial owners. A broker non-vote occurs when a broker holding shares for a beneficial owner does not vote on a particular proposal because the matter is not routine and therefore the broker does not have discretionary voting power with respect to that item and has not received voting instructions from the beneficial owner.

 

If you are a holder of record (that is, your shares are registered in your own name with our transfer agent) and you don’t vote your shares, your shares will not be voted.

 

If you hold your shares in “street name”, and you do not give your bank, broker or other holder of record specific voting instructions for your shares, your record holder can vote your shares on the amendment of our certificate of incorporation and the ratification of the independent registered public accountants for 2010. However, your record holder cannot vote your shares without your specific instructions on the election of the directors and the proposal for the ratification of the Rights Plan. It is therefore important that you provide instructions to your broker if your shares are held by a broker so that your vote with respect to directors and the Rights Plan is counted.

 

For the aforementioned proposals for which a broker cannot vote without your instruction, if you do not provide voting instructions to your broker on such proposals, the votes will be considered “broker non-votes” and will not be counted in determining the outcome of the vote. “Broker non-votes” will be counted as present for purposes of determining whether enough votes are present to hold the annual meeting.

 

Stockholders of record can vote as follows:

 

 

If your shares are held in “street name,” please check your proxy card or contact your broker or nominee to determine whether you will be able to vote by telephone or electronically. The deadline for voting by telephone or electronically is 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on Wednesday, May 26, 2010. “Street name” stockholders who wish to vote in person at the meeting will need to obtain a proxy form from the institution that holds their shares.

 

This proxy statement and the 2009 Annual Report to Stockholders are available at http://bnymellon.mobular.net/bnymellon/siri.

 

As permitted by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, only one copy of this proxy statement and annual report is being delivered to stockholders residing at the same address, unless the stockholders have notified us of their desire to receive multiple copies of our proxy statement. This is known as householding.

 

We will promptly deliver, upon oral or written request, a separate copy of this proxy statement and annual report to any stockholder residing at an address to which only one copy was mailed. Requests for additional copies for this year or future years should be directed to: Sirius XM Radio Inc., Attention: Corporate Secretary, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, 36th Floor, New York, New York 10020.

 

Stockholders of record residing at the same address and currently receiving multiple copies of this proxy statement may contact our Corporate Secretary to request that only a single copy of our proxy statement be mailed in the future.

 

Yes. You may change your vote at any time before your shares are voted at the annual meeting by:

 

 

However, if you have shares held through a brokerage firm, bank or other custodian, you may revoke your instructions only by informing the custodian in accordance with any procedures it has established.

 

A representative of BNY Mellon Shareowner Services will tabulate the votes and act as inspector of elections.

 

A proxy is a person you appoint to vote on your behalf. We are soliciting your vote so that all shares of our common stock may be voted at the annual meeting.

 

You will be designating Patrick L. Donnelly, our Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, and Ruth A. Ziegler, our Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, as your proxies. However, you may appoint a person (who need not be a stockholder) other than Patrick L. Donnelly and Ruth A. Ziegler to represent you at the meeting by completing another proper proxy.

 

Your proxy will vote according to your instructions. If you complete your proxy card but do not indicate your vote on one or all of the business matters, your proxy will vote “FOR” all items. In addition, your proxy is authorized to vote on any other business that properly comes before the annual meeting in accordance with the recommendation of our board of directors.

 

If any Common Stock Director nominee becomes unavailable for election, votes will be cast for such substitute nominee or nominees as may be designated by our board of directors, unless our board of directors reduces the number of directors on our board.

 

SIRIUS XM is soliciting your proxy. The cost of soliciting proxies will be borne by SIRIUS XM, which has engaged MacKenzie Partners, Inc. to assist in the distribution and solicitation of proxies. We have agreed to pay MacKenzie $10,000 and reimburse the firm for its reasonable out-of-pocket expenses. We will also reimburse brokerage firms, banks and other custodians for their reasonable out-of-pocket expenses for forwarding these proxy materials to you. Our directors, officers and employees may solicit proxies on our behalf by telephone or in writing.

 

Our rights plan was adopted in April 2009. The purpose of the Rights Plan is to help preserve the long-term value of our NOLs. The Rights Plan is designed to deter the acquisition of our common stock in excess of amounts that could inhibit our ability to use the NOLs to reduce our future taxable income.

 

NOLs are net operating losses (“NOLs”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes. We had approximately $8 billion of NOLs as of December 31, 2009. NOLs are a significant asset that could save up to almost $2.8 billion in taxes over the next 17 years. Because the amount and timing of our future taxable income, if any, cannot be accurately predicted, we cannot estimate the exact amount of NOLs that we can ultimately use to reduce our federal taxable income. Although we are unable to quantify an exact value, we believe the NOLs are a very valuable asset. Our board of directors believes that the Rights Plan is an important tool in avoiding adverse impacts to our NOLs that could result from an “ownership change” for tax purposes.

 

Subject to certain limited exceptions, the Rights Plan would restrict any person from buying our common stock if the acquisition would result in a stockholder (or several stockholders, in the aggregate, who hold their stock as a “group” as defined under the federal securities laws) owning 4.9% or more of our common stock.

 

Yes, our board of directors may, in its sole discretion, exempt any person or group from triggering the dilutive effect of the Rights Plan.

 

The Rights Plan would expire on the earliest of (i) August 1, 2011, (ii) the rights being redeemed pursuant to the Rights Plan, (iii) the rights being exchanged pursuant to the Rights Plan, (iv) the repeal of applicable provision of the tax laws, or any successor statute, if our board of directors determines that the Rights Plan is no longer necessary for the preservation of tax benefits, (v) the beginning of a taxable year to which our board of directors determines that no tax benefits may be carried forward, and (vi) June 30, 2010, if the Rights Plan has not been approved by our stockholders.

 

On September 15, 2009, we received notice from the NASDAQ Stock Market that our common stock had closed below $1.00 per share for 30 consecutive business days and was therefore not in compliance with the NASDAQ Marketplace Rule that requires the $1.00 per share minimum closing bid price. On March 16, 2010, we received a letter from the NASDAQ staff stating that we had not regained compliance with the $1.00 minimum closing bid price requirement for continued listing under NASDAQ Listing Rule 5450(a)(1) during the allowed grace period. We have been granted a hearing before a NASDAQ Hearings Panel to appeal the staff’s determination. This request automatically stayed any action to delist our common stock from The NASDAQ Global Select Market until the hearing procedures have concluded. The purpose of any reverse stock split would be to increase the per share trading value of our common stock above $1.00 if necessary to comply with such rule. We meet all of the NASDAQ Global Select Market’s continued listing criteria, other than the minimum bid price requirement. Our board of directors intends to effect the reverse stock split only if the implementation of the reverse stock split is determined by the board of directors to be in the best interests of the company and its stockholders.

 

To be eligible for inclusion in our proxy statement and form of proxy for next year’s annual meeting, stockholder proposals must be submitted in writing by the close of business on December 24, 2010, which would be at least 120 days prior to the anticipated 2011 meeting, to our Corporate Secretary, Sirius XM Radio Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, 36th Floor, New York, New York 10020.

 

If any proposal that is not submitted for inclusion in next year’s proxy statement (as described in the preceding paragraph) is instead sought to be presented directly at next year’s annual meeting, the proxies may vote in their discretion if (a) we receive notice of the proposal before the close of business on March 9, 2011 and advise stockholders in next year’s proxy statement about the nature of the matter and how management intends to vote on such matter, or (b) we do not receive notice of the proposal prior to the close of business on March 9, 2011. Notices of intention to present proposals at next year’s annual meeting should be addressed to our Corporate Secretary, Sirius XM Radio Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, 36th Floor, New York, New York 10020.

 

 

The following table sets forth information regarding beneficial ownership of our common stock as of February 28, 2010 by each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding common stock. In general, “beneficial ownership” includes those shares a person has the power to vote or transfer, and options to acquire our common stock that are exercisable currently or become exercisable within 60 days. We believe that the beneficial owner of the common stock listed below, based on information furnished by this owner, has sole investment and voting power with respect to these shares.

 

 

 

 

 

The following table shows the number of shares of common stock beneficially owned by each of our directors, our Chief Executive Officer, our Chief Financial Officer and the four other most highly compensated executive officers as of February 28, 2010. The table also shows common stock beneficially owned by all of our directors and executive officers as a group as of February 28, 2010.

 

 

 

 

 

Based solely upon a review of Form 4s furnished to us during our most recent fiscal year, we know of no director, executive officer or beneficial owner of more than ten percent of our common stock who failed to file on a timely basis reports of beneficial ownership of our common stock as required by Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

 

The business and affairs of our company are managed by or under the direction of our board of directors. Our board reviews and ratifies senior management selection and compensation, monitors overall corporate performance and ensures the integrity of our financial controls. Our board of directors also oversees our strategic and business planning processes.

 

Our board of directors maintains an Audit Committee, a Compensation Committee and a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

 

Copies of the charters for the Audit Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee are available on our website at http://investor.sirius.com. The Compensation Committee has not adopted a charter.

 

The number of committee meetings held during 2009 are as follows: 11 audit committee meetings, 10 compensation committee meetings and 3 nominating and corporate governance committee meetings.

 

The following table shows the current members and chair of each committee and the principal functions performed by each committee:

 

 

 

 

All Common Stock Directors stand for election annually. Our board reaffirms its accountability to common stockholders through this annual election process. The Preferred Stock Directors will serve until their respective successors have been duly elected and qualified pursuant to the Certificate of Designations for the Series B-1 Preferred Stock.

 

Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee reviews possible candidates to be Common Stock Directors and is responsible for overseeing matters of corporate governance, including the evaluation of performance and practices of the board of directors, the board’s committees, management succession plans and executive resources. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee considers suggestions from many sources, including stockholders, for possible Common Stock Directors. Such suggestions, together with appropriate biographical information, should be submitted to our Corporate Secretary, Sirius XM Radio Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, 36th Floor, New York, New York 10020. Candidates who are suggested by our stockholders are evaluated by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee in the same manner as are other possible candidates to be Common Stock Directors. During 2009, our board of directors did not retain any third parties to assist in the process of identifying and evaluating potential nominees to be Common Stock Directors.

 

In its assessment of each potential candidate, including those recommended by stockholders, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee takes into account all factors it considers appropriate, which may include (a) ensuring that the board of directors, as a whole, is diverse and consists of individuals with various and relevant career experience, relevant technical skills, industry knowledge and experience, financial expertise (including expertise that could qualify a director as a “financial expert,” as that term is defined by the rules of the SEC), local or community ties, and (b) minimum individual qualifications, including strength of character, mature judgment, familiarity with our business and related industries, independence of thought and an ability to work collegially. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee also may consider the extent to which the candidate would fill a present need on the board of directors. After conducting an initial evaluation of a candidate, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will interview that candidate if it believes the candidate might be suitable to be a Common Stock Director and may ask the candidate to meet with other directors and management. If the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee believes a candidate would be a valuable addition to the board of directors, it will recommend to the full board that candidate’s nomination as a Common Stock Director.

 

On November 12, 2009, Eddy W. Hartenstein was elected the non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. The chairman of our board organizes the work of the board and ensures that the board has access to sufficient information to enable the board to carry out its functions, including monitoring our performance and the performance of management. The chairman, among other things, presides over meetings of the board of directors, establishes the agendas of each meeting of the board in consultation with our Chief Executive Officer, oversees the distribution of information to directors, and performs other duties or assignments as agreed with either the board of directors or our Chief Executive Officer.

 

Our board reviews the independence of our directors annually. The provisions of our Corporate Governance Guidelines regarding director independence meet, and in some areas exceed, the listing standards of The NASDAQ Global Select Market. A copy of the Guidelines is available on our website at http://investor.sirius.com.

 

Pursuant to the Guidelines, the board undertook a review of director independence in March 2010. As part of this review, we reviewed written questionnaires submitted by directors. The questionnaires disclose

transactions and relationships between each director or members of his immediate family and SIRIUS XM, other directors, members of our senior management and our affiliates.

 

As a result of this review, the board determined that all of our directors and nominees are independent of the company and its management under the standards set forth in our Guidelines, with the exception of Mel Karmazin, our Chief Executive Officer, and John C. Malone, Gregory B. Maffei and David J.A. Flowers, each of whom is an employee of Liberty Media Corporation. Chester A. Huber, Jr. and John W. Mendel, who are or have been employees of General Motors and American Honda, respectively, have indicated that they do not wish to stand for reelection to the board of directors.

 

The board has also determined that all of the members of the Audit Committee are financially literate and meet the independence requirements mandated by the applicable NASDAQ listing standards, Section 10A(m)(3) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and our Guidelines. The board has determined that all of the members of the Compensation Committee meet the independence requirements mandated by the applicable NASDAQ listing standards, the rules of the SEC and the Internal Revenue Service applicable to serving on the Compensation Committee and our Guidelines. The board has determined that all of the members of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee meet the independence requirements mandated by the NASDAQ listing standards applicable to serving on the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and our Guidelines.

 

Our independent directors meet regularly in executive sessions.

 

On behalf of the board of directors, the Audit Committee is responsible for oversight of our risk management policies and procedures. We are exposed to a number of risks, including financial, strategic and operational risks and risks relating to regulatory and legal compliance. The Audit Committee will discuss with senior management our major risk exposures and the steps senior management has taken to monitor and control such exposures. Our Chief Financial Officer is responsible for our risk management function and works closely with our management to identify material risks. The Chief Financial Officer will meet with the Audit Committee and our Chief Executive Officer regularly to discuss the risks facing us, highlighting any new risks that may have arisen since they last met. The Audit Committee will also report to the board of directors to apprise them of their discussions with the Chief Financial Officer regarding our risk management efforts. Finally, the Chief Financial Officer will report directly to the board of directors at least annually to apprise them directly of our risk management efforts.

 

We have adopted a written policy and written procedures for the review, approval and monitoring of transactions involving the company and “related persons.” For the purposes of the policy, “related persons” include executive officers, directors and director nominees or their immediate family members, or stockholders owning five percent or greater of our common stock.

 

Our related person transaction policy requires:

 

 

 

In connection with the review and approval or ratification of a related person transaction, management must:

 

 

 

In addition, the related person transaction policy provides that the Compensation Committee, in connection with any approval or ratification of a related person transaction involving a non-employee director or director nominee, should consider whether such transaction would compromise the director or director nominee’s status as an “independent,” “outside,” or “non-employee” director, as applicable, under the rules and regulations of the SEC, NASDAQ and Internal Revenue Code.

 

Since the beginning of 2009, we have entered into several related party transactions with General Motors, American Honda and Liberty Media Corporation. Each of these transactions was evaluated and approved in accordance with our related party transaction policy.

 

Relationship with General Motors

 

Distribution Agreement

 

Our wholly-owned subsidiary, XM Satellite Radio Inc. (“XM”), has a long-term distribution agreement with General Motors Corp. (“GM”). GM has a representative on our board of directors and is considered a related party. Mr. Huber has indicated that he does not wish to stand for reelection at this meeting and GM will no longer be a related party following his term as a director. During the term of the agreement, which expires in 2020, GM has agreed to distribute the XM service.

 

In order to encourage the broad installation of XM radios in GM vehicles, XM has agreed to subsidize a portion of the cost of XM radios, and to make incentive payments to GM when the owners of GM vehicles with installed XM radios become subscribers to XM’s service. XM must also share with GM a percentage of the subscription revenue attributable to GM vehicles with installed XM radios. As part of the agreement, GM provides certain call-center related services directly to XM subscribers who are also GM customers for which we reimburse GM.

 

Bandwidth

 

XM has agreed to make bandwidth available to OnStar Corporation for audio and data transmissions to owners of XM-enabled GM vehicles, regardless of whether they are XM subscribers. XM can use the bandwidth until it is actually used by OnStar. OnStar’s use of XM’s bandwidth must be in compliance with applicable laws, must not compete or adversely interfere with XM’s business, and must meet XM’s quality standards. XM also granted to OnStar a certain amount of time to use XM’s studios on an annual basis and agreed to provide certain audio content for distribution on OnStar’s services.

Relationship with American Honda

 

XM has agreed to make a certain amount of its bandwidth available to American Honda. American Honda has a representative on our board of directors and is considered a related party. Mr. Mendel has indicated that he does not wish to stand for reelection at this meeting and American Honda will no longer be a related party following his term as a director. XM can use the bandwidth until it is actually used by American Honda. American Honda’s use of XM’s bandwidth must be in compliance with applicable laws, must not compete or adversely interfere with XM’s business, and must meet XM’s quality standards. This agreement remains in effect so long as American Honda holds a certain amount of its investment in us. In January 2007, XM announced a 10-year extension to its arrangement with American Honda to be its supplier of satellite radio and related data services in Honda and Acura vehicles. XM also agreed to make incentive payments to American Honda for each purchaser of a Honda or Acura vehicle that becomes a self-paying XM subscriber and share with American Honda a portion of the subscription revenue attributable to Honda and Acura vehicles with installed XM radios.

 

Relationship with Liberty Media

 

In February and March 2009, we entered into several transactions to borrow up to $530 million from Liberty Media Corporation and its affiliates. All of these loans were repaid during 2009 in cash from the proceeds of notes issued by us and XM.

 

As part of the transactions with Liberty Media, on February 17, 2009, we entered into an investment agreement (the “Investment Agreement”) with Liberty Radio, LLC, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation. Pursuant to the Investment Agreement, we agreed to issue to Liberty Radio, LLC 12,500,000 shares of convertible preferred stock with a liquidation preference of $0.001 per share in partial consideration for the loan investments described herein. The preferred stock was issued on March 6, 2009, as described below. See “Relationship with Liberty Media — Issuance of the Preferred Stock”.

 

The preferred stock is convertible into approximately 40% of our outstanding shares of common stock (after giving effect to such conversion). Liberty Radio, LLC has agreed not to acquire more than 49.9% of our outstanding common stock for three years from the date the preferred stock was issued, except that Liberty Radio, LLC may acquire more than 49.9% of our outstanding common stock at any time after the second anniversary of such date pursuant to any cash tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of our common stock that are not beneficially owned by Liberty Radio, LLC or its affiliates at a price per share greater than the closing price of the common stock on the trading day preceding the earlier of the public announcement or commencement of such tender offer. The Investment Agreement also provides for certain other standstill provisions during such three year period.

 

The rights, preferences and privileges of the preferred stock are set forth in the Certificate of Designations of Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series B-1 (the “Certificate of Designations”), filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware. The holder of our preferred stock is entitled to appoint a proportionate number of our board of directors based on its ownership levels from time to time. The Certificate of Designations also provides that so long as at least 6,250,000 shares of Series B-1 Preferred Stock are outstanding, we need the consent of the holder of the Series B-1 Preferred Stock for certain actions, including:

 

 

The preferred stock, with respect to dividend rights, ranks on a parity with our common stock, and with respect to rights on liquidation, winding-up and dissolution, ranks senior to our common stock. Dividends on the preferred stock are payable, on a non-cumulative basis, as and if declared on our common stock, in cash, on an as-converted basis.

 

Issuance of the Preferred Stock

 

On March 6, 2009, we issued 1,000,000 shares of our Series B-1 Preferred Stock in consideration for the investments described herein and 11,500,000 nonvoting shares of Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series B-2 (the “Series B-2 Preferred Stock”). All of the shares of our Series B-2 Preferred Stock were converted into 11,500,000 shares of Series B-1 Preferred Stock on April 21, 2009. The rights, preferences and privileges of the preferred stock are described in the Certificate of Designations. A summary of the terms of the Certificate of Designations is described above. The foregoing description of the Certificate of Designations does not purport to be a complete description of all of the terms of such Certificate of Designations and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Certificate of Designations, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 3.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K dated March 6, 2009 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

Our board of directors has determined that Joan L. Amble, the chairwoman of the Audit Committee and an independent director, is qualified as an “audit committee financial expert” within the meaning of SEC regulations, and she has accounting and related financial management expertise within the meaning of the NASDAQ listing standards.

 

During 2009, there were eighteen meetings of our board of directors and two written consents in lieu of a meeting. Each director, other than Leon Black, attended more than 75% of the total number of meetings of the board and meetings held by committees on which he or she served. Directors are encouraged to attend the annual meeting of stockholders. Ms. Amble and Messrs. Flowers, Gilberti, Maffei, Malone, Shaw and Karmazin attended our 2009 annual meeting of stockholders.

 

Stockholders may communicate directly with our board of directors, or specified individual directors, according to the procedures described on our website at http://investor.sirius.com.

 

Our Corporate Secretary reviews all correspondence to our directors and forwards to the board a summary and/or copies of any such correspondence that, in the opinion of the Corporate Secretary, deals with the functions of the board or committees thereof or that he otherwise determines requires their attention. Directors may at any time review all correspondence received by us that is addressed to members of our board.

 

In addition, the Audit Committee has established procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment, on a confidential basis, of complaints received by us, our board of directors and the Audit Committee regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters, and the confidential, anonymous submissions by employees of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters. These procedures are available upon request.

 

Our board of directors has adopted Corporate Governance Guidelines which set forth a flexible framework within which the board, assisted by its committees, directs our affairs. The Guidelines cover, among other things, the composition and functions of our board of directors, director independence, management succession and review, committee assignments and selection of new members of our board of directors. A copy of the Guidelines is available on our website at http://investor.sirius.com.

Our board of directors has also adopted a Code of Ethics, which is applicable to all our directors and employees, including our chief executive officer, principal financial officer and principal accounting officer.

 

Our Code of Ethics is available on our website at http://investor.sirius.com and in print to any stockholder who requests it from our Corporate Secretary. If we amend or waive the Code of Ethics with respect to our directors, chief executive officer, principal financial officer or principal accounting officer, we will post the amendment or waiver at this location on our website.

 

Our Compensation Discussion and Analysis, or “CD&A,” is organized into the following sections:

 

 

Introduction

 

We have designed our executive compensation program to (1) support our corporate strategy and business by rewarding performance, (2) retain and recruit highly qualified and effective executive talent, and (3) create a strong performance alignment with stockholders’ interests. We have achieved these objectives through a compensation program consisting primarily of three elements: base salary, performance-based annual bonus and equity compensation.

 

Changes in market conditions and our business caused us to make adjustments to our compensation program in 2008 and 2009. Key matters addressed by the Compensation Committee in 2009 with respect to the compensation of our named executive officers included the following:

 

 

As economic conditions change, we will continue to respond with innovation and flexibility, as needed, to advance our objectives of motivating, attracting and retaining high-quality employees.

 

Overall Program Objectives and Processes

 

Program Objectives

 

We strive to attract, motivate and retain high-quality executives by providing total compensation that is performance-based and competitive with the various markets and industries in which we compete for talent. We strive to provide incentives to advance the interests of stockholders and deliver levels of compensation that are commensurate with performance. We have designed our executive compensation program to:

 

 

 

Currently, we seek to achieve these objectives through three key compensation elements:

 

 

The Compensation Committee believes that this three-part approach is consistent with programs adopted by similarly situated companies and best serves the interests of our stockholders. The approach is an effort to meet the requirements of the competitive environment in which we operate, while ensuring that executive officers are compensated in a manner that advances both the short- and long-term interests of our stockholders.

 

The Compensation Committee believes that delivering compensation in the form of, or based on the value of, our common stock promotes alignment between executive performance and stockholder interests. Accordingly, the value of our common stock represents a large portion of our executives’ long-term compensation, including stock options and/or restricted stock units and matching contributions under the Sirius XM 401(k) Savings Plan. Compensation for our executives also involves a high proportion of pay that is “at risk” — namely, the discretionary annual bonus and the value of equity-based awards. This “at risk” compensation is used to motivate executives to achieve goals and objectives that support our business plan and align executives with the short- and long-term interests of our stockholders.

 

Processes and Compensation Decisions

 

The Compensation Committee is responsible for developing and maintaining compensation programs for our executive officers, including our named executive officers. The Compensation Committee regularly reviews our compensation practices to assess — in light of current market conditions, the status of our business and development and our financial condition and prospects — whether our existing compensation structure properly advances the near- and long-term interests of our stockholders. The Compensation Committee did not employ a compensation consultant in 2009, relying instead on its own significant experience in making executive compensation-related decisions.

 

The Compensation Committee does not attempt to set compensation levels for each executive within a particular range related to levels provided by peers. Instead, the Compensation Committee uses market comparisons as one factor in making compensation decisions. Other factors considered when making individual executive compensation decisions include individual contribution and performance, reporting structure, internal pay relationship, complexity and importance of roles and responsibilities, leadership and growth potential.

 

In determining compensation element levels, including the annual grants of stock options, for each named executive officer (other than the Chief Executive Officer), the Compensation Committee considers the recommendations of the Chief Executive Officer.

 

Executive Compensation Elements

 

Our practices with respect to the key compensation elements identified above, as well as other elements of compensation, are described below, followed by a discussion of the specific factors considered in determining key compensation elements for the named executive officers for 2009.

Base Salary

 

Objectives.  The objective of base salary is to reflect job responsibilities, value to us and individual performance with respect to market competitiveness. Salaries generally are reviewed annually and often are reviewed in connection with the extension of an employment agreement.

 

Process.  Base salaries for named executive officers are determined in accordance with the employment agreements with those officers. The named executive officers are employed pursuant to agreements described under “Potential Payments upon Termination or Change-in-Control — Employment Agreements” below. The minimum salaries set forth in the employment agreements and the amount of any increase over these salaries are determined by the Compensation Committee based on a variety of factors, including:

 

 

In setting base salaries, the Compensation Committee also considers the importance of linking a high proportion of each executive officer’s compensation to performance in the form of the discretionary annual bonus as well as long-term stock-based compensation, which is tied to our stock price performance.

 

Year 2009 Decisions.  During 2009, our Compensation Committee approved an increase in the base salary of Mr. Karmazin for the first time since he joined us in 2004. Mr. Karmazin’s base salary was increased to $1,500,000 from $1,250,000, effective January 1, 2010. The Compensation Committee believed the increase was appropriate following the successful completion of the merger and integration of the two companies and as part of an agreement to extend his employment.

 

Our Compensation Committee also approved increases in the base salaries of Messrs. Greenstein, Meyer and Donnelly beginning in 2010 as part of agreements to extend their employment. The Compensation Committee believed these increases were necessary to assist us in remaining competitive in the labor market and to compensate the executives for increased responsibilities brought about by the merger and changing economic conditions. Effective January 1, 2010, Mr. Greenstein’s base salary was increased to $925,000 from $850,000, Mr. Meyer’s base salary was increased to $1,100,000 from $950,000, and Mr. Donnelly’s base salary was increased to $575,000 from $525,000.

 

Annual Bonus

 

Objectives.  Our compensation program contemplates a performance-based annual bonus that is completely discretionary. The Compensation Committee has the discretion to award any annual bonuses in cash, restricted stock, restricted stock units or a combination thereof.

 

The bonuses approved by the Compensation Committee for 2009 were intended to achieve two principal objectives:

 

 

The Compensation Committee assessed our overall performance subsequent to year-end in the exercise of its discretion. The Compensation Committee did not establish performance objectives for the year ended December 31, 2009.

 

Process.  Although our annual bonus awards are discretionary, the Compensation Committee employed the process described below to assist in shaping its decision and assist in evaluating whether it was appropriate to award bonuses to our named executive officers with respect to the year ended December 31, 2009. The

Compensation Committee may not employ the same process, or may adopt a modified or wholly different process, in making future bonus decisions.

 

 

In 2010, the Compensation Committee intends to determine the overall bonus funding by evaluating our performance against our 2010 business plan as approved by our board of directors, including operating metrics such as total subscribers, cash, revenues, EBITDA, SAC per gross addition, churn, operating expense growth, and other factors that it determines are appropriate.

 

Year 2008 Decisions.  The Compensation Committee did not award any bonuses with respect to the year ended December 31, 2008 in light of the economic environment and concerns regarding our liquidity.

 

Year 2009 Decisions.  Following the process described above, including considering our performance, additional accomplishments and other factors it deemed relevant, the Compensation Committee determined that it was appropriate to award bonuses for 2009 and approved a bonus pool to be divided among employees. The Compensation Committee also determined that it was appropriate to award bonuses for 2009 to our named executive officers (the bonuses are described below and are reflected in the Summary Compensation Table) and determined that the bonuses to our named executive officers for 2009 would be paid in cash.

 

The annual bonus for Mr. Karmazin is discussed below under “Compensation of our Chief Executive Officer.”

 

Mr. Greenstein was awarded a bonus for his contributions during the year, including his role in the continued enhancement of our programming and the marketing efforts which supported our brand awareness and customer satisfaction levels, the renegotiation and extension of various programming agreements resulting in extended terms and significant cost reductions, the launch of the SIRIUS XM application for the iPhone and iPod touch, and the successful integration of the legacy SIRIUS and XM operations resulting in significant synergies.

 

Mr. Meyer was awarded a bonus for his contributions during the year, including his role in the company being cash flow positive for full year 2009, the reduction of operating expense growth, the stabilization of self-pay churn levels and improvement in customer save rates, the reduction in subscriber acquisition costs per gross addition, the launch of the SIRIUS XM application for the iPhone and iPod touch, the improvement in automaker penetration, the negotiation of extensions and amendments of our agreements with various automakers, and the successful integration of the legacy SIRIUS and XM operations resulting in significant synergies.

 

Mr. Donnelly was awarded a bonus for his contributions during the year, including his regular on-going contributions as our general counsel, and his role in the successful restructuring of our capital structure,

including the Liberty Media transactions, the negotiation and execution of amendments to our agreements with various automakers, and the successful integration of the legacy SIRIUS and XM operations resulting in significant synergies.

 

Mr. Frear was awarded a bonus for his contributions during the year, including his regular on-going contributions as our chief financial officer, and his role in the company being cash flow positive for full year 2009, the reduction of operating expense growth, the reduction in subscriber acquisition costs per gross addition, the successful restructuring of our capital structure, including the Liberty Media transactions, and the successful integration of the legacy SIRIUS and XM operations resulting in significant synergies.

 

Ms. Altman was awarded a bonus for her contributions during the year, including her regular on-going contributions as our chief administrative officer, managing the on-going personnel reductions, oversight of the DC-based operations, and the successful integration of the legacy SIRIUS and XM operations resulting in significant synergies.

 

Based on the foregoing, the Compensation Committee approved the bonus amounts set forth in the Summary Compensation Table for each of the above named executive officers.

 

2009 Retention-Based Short Term Incentive Program

 

In May 2009, the Compensation Committee approved grants of restricted stock units to certain employees, including the named executive officers (other than Mr. Karmazin). These grants vested in periodic installments over the course of 2009 and were issued for the purpose of retaining these employees. The Compensation Committee considered these awards appropriate to try to keep intact our management and key employees following the merger and in the face of challenging economic conditions. The awards to the named executive officers under this program are identified in the Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table for 2009. The Compensation Committee does not anticipate approving a similar short-term incentive program for 2010.

 

Long-term Incentive Compensation

 

Objectives.  The Compensation Committee grants long-term incentive awards to align compensation for named executive officers over a multi-year period directly with the interests of our stockholders by motivating and rewarding actions that create or increase long-term stockholder value. The Compensation Committee determines the level of long-term incentive compensation based on an evaluation of competitive factors in conjunction with total compensation provided to named executive officers and the objectives of the compensation program described above.

 

Process.  Our Compensation Committee grants long-term incentive compensation in the form of stock options and restricted stock units because our Compensation Committee believes that these two forms of awards reward stockholder value creation in different ways. Stock options (which have exercise prices equal to the market price on the date of grant) reward named executive officers only if our stock price increases. Restricted stock units have value on the date of grant. Restricted stock units are affected by all stock price changes, so the value to named executive officers is affected by both increases and decreases in our stock price.

 

Our long-term incentive program calls for stock options to be granted with exercise prices of not less than fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant and, historically, to vest proportionally over four years, if the employee is still employed by us, with exceptions to this vesting schedule made by the Compensation Committee. We define fair market value as the stock price on the close of business on the day of grant for existing employees and on the close of business the day before hiring for new employees.

 

Year 2009 Decisions.  The long-term compensation awarded by the Compensation Committee to named executive officers in 2009 under the programs described above is identified in the Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table for 2009. The executives were awarded these long-term incentives in recognition of their prior contributions and as an incentive for the executives to continue to enhance stockholder value. Each of Messrs. Karmazin, Greenstein and Meyer received a long-term incentive award in the form of stock options as part of an agreement to extend his employment in 2009 and Mr. Donnelly as part of his agreement to extend

his employment in 2010. Each of Ms. Altman and Messrs. Donnelly, Frear and Meyer received a long-term incentive award in the form of stock options as part of a broad-based grant to employees in August 2009.

 

Retirement and Other Employee Benefits

 

We maintain broad-based benefits for all employees, including health and dental insurance, life and disability insurance and a 401(k) plan. Our executives are eligible to participate in all of our employee benefit plans on the same basis as other employees. Our named executive officers participate in our 401(k) Savings Plan, including the matching and profit sharing component of that plan. We did not make any contributions to the profit sharing component of our 401(k) Savings Plan with respect to the year ended December 31, 2009. We do not sponsor or maintain any other retirement or deferred compensation plans for any of our employees.

 

Perquisites and Other Benefits for Named Executive Officers

 

The Compensation Committee supports providing perquisites and other benefits to named executive officers that, except as to Mr. Meyer, are substantially the same as those offered to our other full time employees and are provided to executives in similarly situated companies. In addition, as Mr. Meyer’s principal residence is in Indianapolis, Indiana, we reimburse Mr. Meyer for the reasonable costs of an apartment in the New York metropolitan area and other incidental living expenses, up to a maximum of $5,000 per month for rent. We also reimburse Mr. Meyer for the reasonable costs of coach class air-fare from his home in Indianapolis, Indiana, to our offices in New York City. We also pay Mr. Meyer an additional amount to hold him harmless as a result of any federal, state or New York City income taxes imputed in respect of the expenses we reimburse him for.

 

Payments to Named Executive Officers Upon Termination or Change-in-Control

 

The employment agreements we have entered into with our named executive officers provide for severance payments and, in connection with a severance that occurs after a change-in-control, additional payments (including tax “gross-up” payments to protect the named executive officers from so-called “golden parachute” excise taxes that could arise in such circumstances). These arrangements vary from executive to executive due to individual negotiations based on each executive’s history and individual circumstances.

 

We believe that these change-in-control arrangements mitigate some of the risk that exists for executives working in our industry. These arrangements are intended to attract and retain qualified executives who could have other job alternatives that may appear to them, in the absence of these arrangements, to be less risky.

 

There is a possibility that we could be acquired in the future. Accordingly, we believe that severance payments in connection with a change-in-control are necessary to enable key executives to evaluate objectively the benefits to our stockholders of a proposed transaction, notwithstanding its potential effects on their own job security.

 

Total Compensation for Named Executive Officers

 

The Compensation Committee’s goal is to award compensation that is reasonable when all elements of potential compensation are considered. In making decisions with respect to any element of a named executive officer’s compensation, the Compensation Committee considers the total compensation that may be awarded to the officer, including salary, annual bonus, long-term incentives, perquisites and other benefits. In addition, the Compensation Committee considers the other benefits to which the officer is entitled by his or her employment agreement, including compensation payable upon termination of employment. In making its decisions regarding compensation for 2009, the Compensation Committee reviewed the total compensation potentially payable to, and the benefits accruing to, each named executive officer.

Related Policies and Considerations

 

Compensation of our Chief Executive Officer

 

In November 2004, our board of directors negotiated, and we entered into, a five-year employment agreement with Mel Karmazin to serve as our Chief Executive Officer. In June 2009, Mr. Karmazin’s employment agreement was extended through the end of 2012. As reflected in the Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table for 2009, Mr. Karmazin received an award of stock options in 2009 upon entering into his employment agreement extension. This is the first equity-based award granted to Mr. Karmazin since joining us in 2004. The material terms of Mr. Karmazin’s employment agreement are described below under “Potential Payments Upon Termination and Change-in-Control — Employment Agreements — Mel Karmazin.”

 

The terms of Mr. Karmazin’s employment were established by negotiations between Mr. Karmazin and the Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee did not retain an independent compensation consultant to advise them in the negotiation of Mr. Karmazin’s compensation arrangements or to assess the reasonableness of the compensation arrangements. The Compensation Committee concluded that, in its business judgment, Mr. Karmazin’s profile, qualifications and experience, particularly in radio, were uniquely suited to our needs, and that the compensation, including the base salary and stock option components of the compensation, was, taken as a whole, appropriate under the circumstances.

 

Mr. Karmazin did not receive a bonus in respect of the year ended December 31, 2008, nor did he receive an award of restricted stock units in 2009. In February 2010, with respect to his performance in 2009, the Compensation Committee awarded a cash bonus to Mr. Karmazin of $7,000,000 in recognition of his performance and our corporate performance, including:

 

 

In May 2009, Mr. Karmazin voluntarily forfeited an aggregate of 30,000,000 non-qualified stock options. These options had an exercise price of $4.72 per share. Of these options, 24,000,000 were vested, and 6,000,000 were unvested. Upon forfeiture of these options, the shares underlying these options again became available for grants under the Amended and Restated Sirius Satellite Radio 2003 Long-Term Stock Incentive Plan. Mr. Karmazin’s decision to forfeit these options allowed us to more efficiently use these shares to meet our purposes of attracting, motivating and retaining key employees. Mr. Karmazin did not receive any consideration in exchange for the forfeiture of these stock options.

 

Policy with Respect to Internal Revenue Code Section 162(m)

 

Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code places a $1 million per person limitation on the tax deduction we may take for compensation paid to our Chief Executive Officer and our three other highest paid executive officers other than our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, except that compensation

constituting performance-based compensation, as defined by the Internal Revenue Code, is not subject to the $1 million limit. The Compensation Committee reserves the discretion to pay compensation that does not qualify for exemption under Section 162(m) where the Compensation Committee believes such action to be in the best interests of our stockholders.

 

We have reviewed and discussed the Compensation Discussion and Analysis with management and as a committee. Based on our review and discussion with management, we recommended that the board of directors include the Compensation Discussion and Analysis in this proxy statement.

 

Compensation Committee

 

Lawrence F. Gilberti, Chairman

James P. Holden

Jack Shaw

 

The following table provides information concerning total compensation earned or paid to our Chief Executive Officer, our Chief Financial Officer and our four other most highly compensated executive officers who served in such capacities as of December 31, 2009 for services rendered to us during the past three fiscal years. These six officers are referred to herein as the named executive officers.

 

 

 

 

The following table provides information with respect to equity grants made during fiscal year 2009 to the named executive officers.

 

 

 

 

The following table provides information with respect to the status at December 31, 2009 of all unexercised options and unvested restricted stock and restricted stock units awarded to each of the named executive officers.

 

 

 

The following table provides information with respect to option exercises and restricted stock and restricted stock units that vested during 2009.

 

 

We do not offer non-qualified deferred compensation or pension benefits to our named executive officers.

 

Employment Agreements

 

We have entered into an employment agreement with each of our named executive officers that contains provisions regarding payments upon a termination or change of control.

 

Mel Karmazin

 

In June 2009, we amended our employment agreement with Mel Karmazin. The amendment (i) extended the term of his employment agreement through December 31, 2012, (ii) increased his base salary from $1,250,000 per year to $1,500,000 per year beginning on January 1, 2010, and (iii) provided for the grant of an option to purchase 120,000,000 shares of our common stock, at an exercise price of $0.430 per share (the closing price of our common stock on the date of the amendment).

 

These options vest in equal installments on each of December 31, 2010, December 31, 2011, June 30, 2012 and December 31, 2012. The vesting of these stock options accelerate upon the termination of Mr. Karmazin’s employment by us without cause, by him for good reason, upon his death or disability and in the event of a change of control. These options will generally expire on December 31, 2014; provided that if the parties subsequently agree to extend the term of his employment agreement through December 31, 2013 or later, then the term of these options will automatically extend until the later of (i) December 31, 2015 and (ii) the date that is one year following the date that such new employment agreement expires, but no later than the 10th anniversary of the date of grant.

 

In the event Mr. Karmazin’s employment is terminated by us without cause, or by Mr. Karmazin for good reason, his unvested stock options will vest and become exercisable, and he will receive his current base salary for the remainder of the term, any earned but unpaid annual bonus, a pro rata portion of his target bonus for the year in which the termination occurs (if established) and health and life insurance benefits for the remainder of the term.

 

In the event that any payment we make, or benefit we provide, to Mr. Karmazin would require him to pay an excise tax under Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code, we have agreed to pay Mr. Karmazin the amount of such tax and such additional amount as may be necessary to place him in the exact same financial position that he would have been in if the excise tax was not imposed.

Scott A. Greenstein

 

In July 2009, we entered into a new employment agreement with Scott A. Greenstein to continue to serve as our President and Chief Content Officer through July 27, 2013. The employment agreement provides for an annual base salary in 2010 of $925,000, with specified increases.

 

In connection with the execution of the employment agreement, we granted Mr. Greenstein an option to purchase 27,768,136 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $0.43 per share (the closing price of our common stock on the date of the employment agreement). These options vest in four equal installments on each of July 26, 2010, July 26, 2011, July 26, 2012 and July 26, 2013. The vesting of these stock options will accelerate upon the termination of Mr. Greenstein’s employment by us without cause, by him for good reason, and upon his death or disability. These options will generally expire on July 27, 2019, subject to earlier termination following Mr. Greenstein’s termination of employment.

 

If Mr. Greenstein’s employment is terminated without cause or he terminates his employment for good reason, subject to an execution of a release of claims, we are obligated to pay him a lump sum payment equal to his then annual salary and the cash value of the bonus last paid or payable to him in respect of the preceding fiscal year and to continue his health and life insurance benefits for one year.

 

In the event that any payment we make, or benefit we provide, to Mr. Greenstein would require him to pay an excise tax under Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code, we have agreed to pay Mr. Greenstein the amount of such tax and such additional amount as may be necessary to place him in the exact same financial position that he would have been in if the excise tax was not imposed.

 

James E. Meyer

 

In October 2009, we entered into a new employment agreement with James E. Meyer to continue to serve as our President, Operations and Sales, through May 1, 2013. The employment agreement provides for an initial annual base salary of $950,000, with specified increases.

 

In connection with the execution of the employment agreement, we granted Mr. Meyer an option to purchase 25,184,984 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $0.5752 per share (the closing price of our common stock on date of the employment agreement). The option will generally vest in four equal installments on each of October 14, 2010, October 14, 2011, October 14, 2012 and October 14, 2013, and expire on October 14, 2019, subject to earlier acceleration or termination under certain circumstances.

 

If Mr. Meyer’s employment is terminated without cause or he terminates his employment for good reason, subject to an execution of a release of claims, we are obligated to continue his health benefits for 18 months and his life insurance benefits for one year and pay him a lump sum payment equal to Mr. Meyer’s annual base salary plus, the greater of (x) a bonus equal to 60% of his then annual base salary or (y) the prior year’s bonus actually paid to him (the “Designated Amount”). In the event Mr. Meyer elects to retire in April 2011, subject to an execution of a release of claims and generally in lieu of any other payments under the employment agreement, we are obligated to continue his health and life benefits for two years and pay him a lump sum payment equal to two times the Designated Amount.

 

Upon the expiration of the employment agreement in May 2013 or following his retirement in April 2011, we have agreed to offer Mr. Meyer a one-year consulting agreement for no additional consideration, other than reimbursement of reasonable out-of-pocket expenses associated with the performance of his obligations under the consulting agreement.

 

In the event that any payment we make, or benefit we provide, to Mr. Meyer would require him to pay an excise tax under Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code, we have agreed to pay Mr. Meyer the amount of such tax and such additional amount as may be necessary to place him in the exact same financial position that he would have been in if the excise tax was not imposed.

Dara F. Altman

 

In September 2008, we entered into a three year employment agreement with Dara F. Altman to serve as our Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer. We pay Ms. Altman an annual salary of $446,332.

 

If Ms. Altman’s employment is terminated without cause or she terminates her employment for good reason, she is entitled to receive a lump sum severance payment, in cash equal to two times the sum of (1) her base salary as in effect immediately prior to the termination date or, if higher, in effect immediately prior to the first occurrence of an event or circumstance constituting good reason, and (2) the higher of (a) the last annual bonus actually paid to her and (b) 55% of her base salary as in effect immediately prior to the termination date or, if higher, in effect immediately prior to the first occurrence of an event or circumstance constituting good reason. In the event Ms. Altman’s employment is terminated without cause or she terminates her employment for good reason, all options to purchase our common stock, restricted stock units or restricted shares of common stock issued by us to her during the term that are held by her on the termination date shall immediately vest. Any such vested stock options shall expire 90 days following the termination. In addition, in the event Ms. Altman’s employment is terminated without cause or she terminates her employment for good reason, we are also obligated to continue her medical, dental and life insurance benefits for 24 months following her termination.

 

In the event that any payment we make, or benefit we provide, to Ms. Altman would require her to pay an excise tax under Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code, we have agreed to pay Ms. Altman the amount of such tax and any additional amount as may be necessary to place her in the exact same financial position that she would have been in if the excise tax was not imposed.

 

Patrick L. Donnelly

 

In January 2010, we entered into a new employment agreement with Patrick L. Donnelly to continue to serve as our Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, through January 13, 2014. The employment agreement provides for an initial annual base salary of $575,000, with specified increases.

 

In connection with the execution of the employment agreement, we granted Mr. Donnelly an option to purchase 13,163,495 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $0.6669 per share (the last sale price of our common stock on The NASDAQ Global Select Market prior to the execution of the employment agreement). The option will generally vest in four equal installments on each of January 14, 2011, January 14, 2012, January 14, 2013 and January 14, 2014, and expires on January 14, 2020, subject to earlier acceleration or termination under certain circumstances.

 

If Mr. Donnelly’s employment is terminated without cause or he terminates his employment for good reason, subject to an execution of a release of claims, we are obligated to pay him a lump sum payment equal to his then annual salary and the cash value of the bonus last paid or payable to him in respect of the preceding fiscal year and to continue his health and life insurance benefits for one year.

 

In the event that any payment we make, or benefit we provide, to Mr. Donnelly would require him to pay an excise tax under Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code, we have agreed to pay Mr. Donnelly the amount of such tax and any additional amount as may be necessary to place him in the exact same financial position that he would have been in if the excise tax was not imposed.

 

David J. Frear

 

Mr. Frear has agreed to serve as our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer through July 2011. We pay Mr. Frear an annual salary of $750,000.

 

If Mr. Frear’s employment is terminated without cause or he terminates his employment for good reason, we are obligated to pay him a lump sum payment equal to the sum of his annual salary and the annual bonus last paid to him and to continue his medical and life insurance benefits for one year.

In the event that any payment we make, or benefit we provide, to Mr. Frear would require him to pay an excise tax under Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code, we have agreed to pay Mr. Frear the amount of such tax and such additional amount as may be necessary to place him in the exact same financial position that he would have been in if the excise tax was not imposed.

 

Potential Payments

 

If a triggering event and/or termination of employment had occurred as of December 31, 2009, we estimate that the value of the benefits under the employment agreements would have been as follows:

 

 

 

 

The following table provides compensation information for the year ended December 31, 2009 for each of our non-employee directors. Directors who are employees do not receive compensation for their services as directors.

 

 

 

 

Mr. Huber and Mr. Mendel, who were or are employees of General Motors and American Honda, respectively, have elected to forgo all compensation paid to directors.

 

As chairman of the board of directors, Mr. Hartenstein will receive an annual cash retainer of $100,000. The other members of our board of directors each receive a cash annual retainer of $50,000. In addition, each member receives $70,000 in the form of options to purchase our common stock which are granted the business day following each year’s annual meeting of stockholders. All options to purchase common stock awarded to our directors vest over a four-year period, with 25% vesting on each anniversary of the date of grant; provided

that no options vest in a given year if, in the prior calendar year, the director failed to attend at least 75% of the meetings of the board.

 

Any director who fails to attend at least 75% of the meetings of the board of directors in any given year, forfeits 25% of his or her compensation that is payable in cash. During 2009, all of our directors, other than Leon Black, attended over 75% of the meetings of our board of directors.

 

Each director who serves as chair of a committee of the board of directors receives an additional annual cash retainer as follows: the audit committee chairwoman receives $30,000; the compensation committee chairman receives $20,000; and the nominating and corporate governance chairman receives $10,000.

 

We also pay reasonable travel and accommodation expenses of directors in connection with their participation in meetings of the board of directors.

 

Eight directors will be elected at the annual meeting. Currently, there are thirteen members of our board of directors. Messrs. Chester A. Huber, Jr. and John W. Mendel have decided not to stand for re-election to our board of directors. The board has elected not to fill their seats on the board. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of our board of directors has nominated eight directors to be elected as Common Stock Directors by the holders of our common stock and our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock (the “Common Stock Director Nominees”). John C. Malone, Gregory B. Maffei and David J.A. Flowers have been appointed to the board of directors by an affiliate of Liberty Media Corporation, the holder of our Series B-1 Preferred Stock, and are referred to as the Preferred Stock Director Designees.

 

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee believes that well functioning boards consist of a diverse collection of individuals that bring a variety of complementary skills. Although the board of directors does not have a formal policy with regard to the consideration of diversity in identifying directors, diversity is one of the factors that the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may, pursuant to its charter, take into account in identifying director candidates. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee generally considers each Common Stock Director in the broad context of the overall composition of our board of directors with a view toward constituting a board that, as a body, possesses the appropriate mix of skills and experience to oversee our business. Depending on current membership of our board of directors, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee also may decide to seek or give preference to a qualified candidate who is female or adds to the ethnic diversity of the board. The experience, qualifications, attributes, or skills that led the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee to conclude that our Common Stock Directors should serve on the board are generally described below:

 

 

 

Set forth below are the eight Common Stock Director Nominees to be elected by the holders of our common stock and our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock to serve until the next annual meeting of stockholders or until their respective successors have been duly elected and qualified and the three Preferred Stock Director Designees that will serve until their respective successors have been duly elected and qualified pursuant to the Certificate of Designations for the Series B-1 Preferred Stock.

 

To be elected as a director, each Common Stock Director Nominee must receive a plurality of the votes cast by the holders of our common stock and our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, voting together as a single class.

 

Should any Common Stock Director Nominee become unable or unwilling to accept nomination or election, the proxy holders may vote the proxies for the election, in his or her stead, of any other person our

board of directors may nominate or designate. Each Common Stock Director Nominee has expressed his or her intention to serve.

 

Joan L. Amble, age 56, has been a director since July 2008. From December 2006 until the closing of the merger with XM in July 2008, Ms. Amble served as a director of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. Ms. Amble has served as Executive Vice President and Corporate Comptroller for American Express Company since December 2003. Prior to joining American Express, Ms. Amble served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer of GE Capital Markets, a service business within GE Capital Services, Inc., overseeing securitizations, debt placement and syndication, as well as structured equity transactions. From 1994 to March 2003, Ms. Amble served as vice president and controller for GE Capital. Ms. Amble also serves as a member of the board of directors of Broadcom, Inc.

 

Leon D. Black, age 58, has been a director since June 2001. Mr. Black is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Apollo Global Management, LLC and a Managing Partner of Apollo Management, L.P. which he founded in 1990 to manage investment capital on behalf of a group of institutional investors, focusing on corporate restructuring, leveraged buyouts, and taking minority positions in growth-oriented companies. From 1977 to 1990, Mr. Black worked at Drexel Burnham Lambert Incorporated, where he served as managing director, head of the Mergers & Acquisitions Group and co-head of the Corporate Finance Department. Mr. Black serves on the board of the general partner of AP Alternative Assets. Mr. Black is a trustee of Dartmouth College, The Museum of Modern Art, Mount Sinai Hospital, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Prep for Prep, and the Asia Society. He is also a member of The Council on Foreign Relations, The Partnership for New York City and the National Advisory Board of JPMorganChase. He is also a member of the boards of directors of Faster Cures and the Port Authority Task Force. Mr. Black also served as a director at United Rentals, Inc., AMC Entertainment and Wyndham International during the last five years.

 

Lawrence F. Gilberti, age 59, has been a director since September 1993. Since June 2000, Mr. Gilberti has been a partner in the law firm of Reed Smith LLP; from May 1998 through May 2000, he was of counsel to that firm. From August 1994 to May 1998, Mr. Gilberti was a partner in the law firm of Fischbein Badillo Wagner Harding.

 

Eddy W. Hartenstein, age 59, has been a director since July 2008. From May 2005 until the closing of the merger with XM in July 2008, Mr. Hartenstein served as a director of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. In August 2008, Mr. Hartenstein was named Publisher and CEO of the Los Angeles Times. In December 2008, Tribune Company and its subsidiaries, including the Los Angeles Times, filed for protection under the United States federal bankruptcy laws. Mr. Hartenstein was the Vice Chairman and a member of the board of directors of The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (formerly Hughes Electronics Corporation) from December 2003 until his retirement in December 2004. Mr. Hartenstein served as Chairman and CEO of DIRECTV, Inc. from late 2001 to 2004 and as President of DIRECTV, Inc. from its inception in 1990 to 2001. Prior to 1990, Mr. Hartenstein served in various capacities for Hughes Communications, Inc., Equatorial Communications Services Company and Hughes Communications. Mr. Hartenstein also serves as a member of the board of directors of SanDisk Corporation, The City of Hope and Broadcom, Inc. Mr. Hartenstein also served as a director at Thomson Multimedia during the last five years.

 

James P. Holden, age 58, has been a director since August 2001. From October 1999 until November 2000, Mr. Holden was the President and Chief Executive Officer of DaimlerChrysler Corporation, one of the world’s largest automakers. Prior to being appointed President in 1999, Mr. Holden held numerous senior positions within Chrysler Corporation during his 19-year career at the company. Since March 2007, Mr. Holden has been the Non-Executive Chairman of Meridian Automotive, a privately held auto supply company. Mr. Holden is a director of SMobile Systems, Speedway MotorSports, Inc., Motors Liquidation Corporation and Lead Director of Snap-On Incorporated.

 

Mel Karmazin, age 66, has served as our Chief Executive Officer and a member of our board of directors since November 2004. Prior to joining us, Mr. Karmazin was President and Chief Operating Officer and a member of the board of directors of Viacom Inc. from May 2000 until June 2004. Prior to joining

Viacom, Mr. Karmazin was President and Chief Executive Officer of CBS Corporation from January 1999 and a director of CBS Corporation from 1997 until its merger with Viacom in May 2000. He was President and Chief Operating Officer of CBS Corporation from April 1998 through December 1998. Mr. Karmazin joined CBS Corporation in December 1996 as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CBS Radio and served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CBS Station Group (Radio and Television) from May 1997 to April 1998. Prior to joining CBS Corporation, Mr. Karmazin served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Infinity Broadcasting Corporation from 1981 until its acquisition by CBS Corporation in December 1996. Mr. Karmazin served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Infinity from December 1998 until the merger of Infinity Broadcasting Corporation with Viacom in February 2001.

 

James F. Mooney, age 55, has been a director since July 2003. Since March 2003, Mr. Mooney has been a director and chairman of the board of directors of Virgin Media Inc., a U.K. entertainment and communications business. From December 2004 to December 2007, Mr. Mooney was the chairman of the board of directors of RCN Corporation, a provider of bundled telephone, cable and high speed internet services. From April 2001 to September 2002, Mr. Mooney was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Nextel Communications Inc., a provider of wireless communications services. From January 2000 to January 2001, Mr. Mooney was the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Tradeout Inc., an asset management firm owned jointly by General Electric Capital, Ebay Inc. and Benchmark Capital. From March 1999 to January 2000, Mr. Mooney was the Chief Financial Officer/Chief Operating Officer at Baan Company, a business management software provider. From 1980 until 1999, Mr. Mooney held a number of positions with IBM Corporation, including Chief Financial Officer of the Americas.

 

Jack Shaw, age 71, has been a director since July 2008. From May 1997 until the closing of the merger with XM in July 2008, Mr. Shaw served as a director of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. Mr. Shaw served as Chief Executive Officer of Hughes Electronics Corporation from January 2000 until his retirement in December 2003 and served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Hughes Network Systems, Inc. from 1987 and 1988, respectively, through January 2000. Previously, Mr. Shaw held senior management positions with companies including ITT Space Communications, Inc., Digital Communications Corporation and M/A-Com Telecommunications, Inc., which was acquired by Hughes Electronics Corporation in 1987. Mr. Shaw is a member of the Board of Directors of Globecomm Systems, Inc.

 

The board of directors unanimously recommends a vote “FOR” each of the Common Stock Director Nominees.

 

John C. Malone, age 69, has been a director since April 2009. Mr. Malone has been Chairman of the Board and a director of Liberty Media Corporation since March 2006. Prior to that, Mr. Malone was Chairman of the Board and a director of Old Liberty from 1994 to May 2006. He was Chief Executive Officer of Old Liberty from August 2005 to February 2006. Mr. Malone served as Chairman of the Board of Tele-communications, Inc., or TCI, from November 1996 to March 1999; and Chief Executive Officer of TCI from January 1994 to March 1997. Mr. Malone has served as Chairman of the Board of Liberty Global, Inc. since June 2005 and Chairman of the Board of DIRECTV since November 2009. Previously, he served as Chairman of the Board of DIRECTV’s predecessor, The DirecTV Group, Inc., from February 2008 to November 2009. He has served as a director of Discovery Communications, Inc. since September 2008, and served as Chairman of the Board of its predecessor, Discovery Holding Company, from May 2005 to September 2008. Mr. Malone served as Chairman of the Board of Liberty Media International, Inc. from March 2004 to June 2005 and as a director of UnitedGlobalCom, Inc. from January 2002 to June 2005. Mr. Malone has served as a director of (i) IAC/InterActiveCorp since May 2006, (ii) Expedia, Inc. since August 2005, (iii) Ascent Media Corporation since January 2010 and (iv) Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. since January 2010. Mr. Malone served as a director of the Bank of New York Company, Inc. from June 2005 to April 2007 and as a director of Cablevision Systems Corp. from March 2005 to June 2005.

 

Gregory B. Maffei, age 49, has been a director since March 2009. Mr. Maffei has been the Chief Executive Officer, President and a director of Liberty Media Corporation since March 2006. He served as the

Chief Executive Officer and President of Liberty Media LLC (formerly named Liberty Media Corporation (“Old Liberty”)) from February 2006 to May 2006 and as a director of Old Liberty from November 2005 to May 2006. Mr. Maffei had previously served as CEO-Elect of Old Liberty from November 2005 through February 2006. Mr. Maffei served as President and CFO of Oracle Corporation from June 2005 until November 2005. Mr. Maffei served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of 360networks from January 2000 until June 2005. Previously he served as CFO of Microsoft and Chairman of Expedia. Mr. Maffei also served as a director of Expedia from 1999 to February 2006 and as a director of Starbucks Corporation from February 1999 to March 2006. Mr. Maffei has served as a director of DIRECTV since November 2009 and served as a director of its predecessor, The DirecTV Group, Inc., from June 2008 to November 2009. Mr. Maffei has served as a director of Electronics Arts, Inc. since June 2003.

 

David J.A. Flowers, age 55, has been a director since April 2009. Mr. Flowers has been a Senior Vice President and the Treasurer of Liberty Media Corporation since March 2006. He has served as a Senior Vice President of Old Liberty since October 2000 and Treasurer of Old Liberty since April 1997. Prior to that, Mr. Flowers served as a Vice President of Old Liberty from June 1995 to October 2000. Mr. Flowers also serves as a director of Internal Leisure Group, Inc.

 

Our board of directors is asking stockholders to approve the rights agreement, dated as of April 29, 2009 (the “Rights Plan”), between the company and The Bank of New York Mellon (the “Rights Agent”) that our board adopted. Unless stockholder approval is obtained by June 30, 2010, the Rights Plan will automatically expire on that date. If stockholder approval is obtained, the Rights Plan will expire pursuant to its terms no later than August 1, 2011 (see “Description of Rights Plan — Expiration”).

 

Background and Reasons for Proposal

 

We have experienced and continue to experience substantial operating losses, and under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), we may “carry forward” these losses in certain circumstances to offset current and future earnings and reduce our federal income tax liability. We believe that we currently will be able to carry forward our net operating losses (“NOLs”) and that these NOLs could be a substantial asset to us.

 

The merger with XM on July 28, 2008 resulted in a change of ownership under Section 382 of the Code. The ownership change did not limit our ability to utilize future tax deductions and so no adjustments were made to our gross deferred tax assets as a result of the merger. At December 31, 2009, we had NOL carryforwards of approximately $8 billion for federal and state income tax purposes available to offset future taxable income. These NOL carryforwards expire on various dates beginning in 2014.

 

On March 6, 2009, we issued Liberty Radio LLC, an affiliate of Liberty Media Corporation, preferred stock that is convertible into approximately 40% of our common stock. Currently, we do not believe that we have experienced an “ownership change” as a result of this issuance to Liberty Media, but calculating whether an “ownership change” has occurred is subject to inherent uncertainty. This uncertainty results from the complexity and ambiguity of Section 382 of the Code, as well as limitations on the knowledge that any publicly traded company can have about the ownership of and transactions in its securities. We have analyzed the information available, along with various scenarios of possible future changes of ownership. In light of this analysis, our current stock price and daily trading volume, we believe that, if no action is taken, it is possible that we could undergo a subsequent “ownership change” under Section 382 of the Code. We believe the Rights Plan substantially reduces this risk.

 

On April 28, 2009, our board of directors adopted the Rights Plan to protect against further limitations on our ability to use our NOLs to reduce our future taxable income. The benefit of the NOLs to us could be significantly reduced if we were to experience another “ownership change” as defined in Section 382 of the Code. If that were to happen, the use of our NOLs and credits to offset our taxable income subsequent to the “ownership change” could be materially limited. The annual limit is obtained by multiplying (1) the aggregate value of our outstanding equity immediately prior to the “ownership change” (reduced by certain capital

contributions made during the immediately preceding two years and certain other items) by (2) the federal long-term tax-exempt interest rate in effect for the month of the “ownership change.” In calculating this annual limit, numerous special rules and limitations apply and it is necessary to incorporate unpredictable factors, such as the future aggregate value of our outstanding common stock and the federal long-term tax exempt interest rate.

 

If we were to have taxable income in excess of the NOL utilization limitations following a subsequent Section 382 “ownership change,” we would not be able to offset such excess taxable income with the NOLs. Although any loss carryforwards not used as a result of any Section 382 limitation would remain available to offset income in future years (again, subject to the Section 382 limitation), another “ownership change” could significantly defer the utilization of the loss carryforwards, accelerate payment of federal income tax and/or cause some of the NOLs to expire unused. It is impossible to predict with any accuracy the potential additional annual limitation on the amount of our taxable income that could be offset by our net operating loss carryforwards and credits were another “ownership change” to occur, but such limitation could be material.

 

Moreover, the amount and timing of our future taxable income, if any, cannot be accurately predicted, and we cannot estimate the exact amount of NOLs that can ultimately be used to reduce our income tax liability. Although we are unable to quantify an exact value, we believe the NOLs are a very valuable asset, and our board of directors believes it is in our best interests to attempt to deter the imposition of additional limitations on their use by adopting the Rights Plan.

 

Section 382 Ownership Calculations

 

Generally, an “ownership change” can occur through one or more acquisitions by which one or more stockholders, each of whom owns or is deemed to own directly or indirectly 5% or more in value of a corporation’s stock, increase their aggregate percentage ownership by more than 50 percentage points over the lowest percentage of stock owned by such stockholders at any time during the preceding rolling three-year period. The amount of the increase in the percentage of stock ownership (measured as a percentage of the value of our outstanding shares rather than voting power) of each 5-percent stockholder is computed separately, and each such increase is then added together with any other such increases to determine whether an “ownership change” has occurred. In determining whether an “ownership change” has occurred, the rules of Section 382 are very complex and are beyond the scope of this summary discussion.

 

Description of Rights Plan

 

The Rights Plan is intended to protect stockholder value by reducing the risk of a Section 382 ownership change, thereby preserving our ability to use the NOLs. Although the Rights Plan is intended to reduce the likelihood of an “ownership change” that could adversely affect us, we cannot assure that it would prevent all transfers that could result in such an “ownership change.”

 

The Rights Plan is intended to act as a deterrent to any person or group (an “Acquiring Person”) acquiring 4.9% or more of our outstanding common stock (assuming for purposes of this calculation that all of our outstanding convertible preferred stock is converted into common stock) without the approval of our board of directors. The Rights Plan exempts future acquisitions of common stock by Liberty Radio, LLC and its affiliates but does not in any respect alter the respective rights and obligations of the company and Liberty Radio, LLC and its affiliates under the terms of the Investment Agreement dated as of February 17, 2009, between the company and Liberty Radio, LLC. Any rights held by an Acquiring Person are void and may not be exercised. Our board of directors may, in its sole discretion, exempt any person or group from being deemed an Acquiring Person for purposes of the Rights Plan.

 

If you approve the Rights Plan, the rights and the Rights Plan would expire on August 1, 2011, unless the rights and the Rights Plan expire earlier as provided in the Rights Plan (see “Description of Rights Plan — Expiration”). As we describe below, if our board of directors determines that the Rights Plan is no longer necessary for the protection of our NOLs, the Rights Plan would expire.

The following description of the Rights Plan is qualified in its entirety by reference to the text of the Rights Plan, which is attached to this proxy statement as Appendix A. We urge you to read carefully the Rights Plan in its entirety as the discussion below is only a summary.

 

The Rights.  As part of the Rights Plan, our board of directors authorized the issuance of one right per each outstanding share of our common stock payable to our stockholders of record as of May 11, 2009. Subject to the terms, provisions and conditions of the Rights Plan, each right initially represents the right to purchase from us one one-millionth of a share of our Series C Junior Preferred Stock for a purchase price of $2.00 (the “Purchase Price”). If issued, each fractional share of preferred stock would give a stockholder approximately the same dividend, voting and liquidation rights as does one share of our common stock. Prior to exercise, a right does not give its holder any rights as a stockholder.

 

Exercisability.  The rights will not be exercisable until the close of business on the tenth business day after a public announcement by us that a person or group has become an Acquiring Person. We refer to the date that the rights become exercisable as the “Distribution Date.” Until the Distribution Date, our common stock certificates will evidence the rights. Any transfer of shares of our common stock prior to the Distribution Date will constitute a transfer of the associated rights. After the Distribution Date, the rights may be transferred on the books and records of the Rights Agent as provided in the Rights Plan.

 

Subject to the exchange feature described below, after the Distribution Date, each holder of a right, other than rights beneficially owned by the Acquiring Person (which will be void), will have the right to receive upon exercise and payment of the Purchase Price, that number of shares of our common stock having a market value of two times the Purchase Price.

 

Exchange.  On or after the Distribution Date, we (1) will, if on such date the voting rights set forth in Section 12 of the Certificate of Designations for our Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series B-1, are still in effect, and (2) at any time thereafter, may, at the option of our board of directors, exchange the rights (other than rights owned by such person or group which will have become void) for our common stock, in whole or in part, at an exchange ratio of one share of our common stock per right (subject to adjustment).

 

Expiration.  The rights and the Rights Plan will expire on the earliest of (1) August 1, 2011, (2) the time at which the rights are redeemed pursuant to the Rights Plan, (3) the time at which the rights are exchanged pursuant to the Rights Plan, (4) the repeal of Section 382 of the Code, or any successor statute, if our board of directors determines that the Rights Plan is no longer necessary for the preservation of tax benefits, (5) the beginning of a taxable year to which our board of directors determines that no tax benefits may be carried forward and (6) June 30, 2010 if our stockholders have not approved the Rights Plan.

 

Redemption.  At any time prior to the Distribution Date, our board of directors may redeem the rights in whole, but not in part, at a price of $0.00001 per right, subject to adjustment to reflect any stock split, stock dividend or similar transaction (the “Redemption Price”). The redemption of the rights may be made effective at such time, on such basis and with such conditions as our board of directors in its sole discretion may establish. Immediately upon any redemption, the right to exercise the rights will terminate and the only right of the holders of rights will be to receive the Redemption Price.

 

Anti-Dilution Provisions.  Our board of directors may make certain adjustments to prevent dilution that may occur as a result of certain events, including among others, a stock dividend, a stock split or a reclassification of the preferred shares or our common stock. Such adjustments may include adjustments to the purchase price of the preferred shares under the rights, the number of preferred shares issuable pursuant to each right and the number of outstanding rights, in each case as provided for in the Rights Plan. Generally, no adjustments to the purchase price of less than 1% will be made.

 

Amendments.  Before the Distribution Date, our board of directors may amend or supplement the Rights Plan without the consent of the holders of the rights. After the Distribution Date, our board of directors may amend or supplement the Rights Plan only to cure an ambiguity, to alter time period provisions, to correct inconsistent provisions or to make any additional changes to the Rights Plan, but only to the extent that those changes do not impair or adversely affect any rights holder and do not result in the rights again becoming

redeemable, and no such amendment may cause the rights again to become redeemable or cause the Rights Plan again to become amendable other than in accordance with this sentence.

 

Other Considerations.  Our board of directors believes that attempting to safeguard our NOLs as described above is in our best interests. Nonetheless, the Rights Plan could have certain potentially negative consequences:

 

 

Vote Required

 

The affirmative vote of a majority in voting power of our common stock, our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and our Series B-1 Convertible Preferred Stock, voting together as a single class, present in person or by proxy, and entitled to vote on the proposal, is required for the approval of the Rights Plan.

 

The board of directors unanimously recommends a vote “FOR” the proposal.

 

 

General

 

Our board of directors has approved, and is hereby soliciting stockholder approval of the authority to effect a reverse stock split through an amendment to our certificate of incorporation at a ratio of not less than one-for-two and not more than one-for-twenty-five in the form set forth in Appendix B to this proxy statement (the “Reverse Stock Split Amendment”).

 

Our stockholders approved an amendment to our certificate of incorporation at our 2008 and 2009 annual meetings of stockholders to authorize an amendment to our certificate of incorporation to effect a reverse stock split, decrease the number of authorized shares under our certificate of incorporation following a reverse stock split, and provide for certain other actions described herein. Approval of this amendment to our certificate of incorporation would extend previous authority for a reverse stock split and reduction in shares that was approved at our 2009 annual meeting to June 30, 2011 from June 30, 2010. If stockholders approve this Item 3, this approval will supersede the approval we received to amend our certificate of incorporation to effect a reverse stock split at our 2009 annual meeting of stockholders on May 27, 2009.

 

A vote FOR this Item 3 will constitute approval of the Reverse Stock Split Amendment providing for the combination of any whole number of shares of common stock between and including two and twenty-five into one share of common stock and will grant our board of directors the authority to select which of the approved exchange ratios within that range will be implemented. If stockholders approve this proposal, our board of directors will have the authority, but not the obligation, in its sole discretion and without further action on the

part of the stockholders, to select one of the approved reverse stock split ratios and effect the approved reverse stock split by filing the Reverse Stock Split Amendment with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware at any time after the approval of the Reverse Stock Split Amendment. If the Reverse Stock Split Amendment has not been filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware by the close of business on June 30, 2011, the board of directors will have no authority to effectuate the Reverse Stock Split Amendment. If the reverse stock split is implemented, the Reverse Stock Split Amendment also would reduce the number of authorized shares of our common stock as set forth below but would not change the par value of a share of our common stock. Except for any changes as a result of the treatment of fractional shares, each stockholder will hold the same percentage of common stock outstanding immediately prior to the reverse stock split as such stockholder held immediately prior to the reverse stock split.

 

Our board of directors believes that stockholder approval of an exchange ratio range (rather than an exact exchange ratio) provides the board with maximum flexibility to achieve the purposes of the reverse stock split. If the stockholders approve this Item 3, the reverse stock split will be effected, if at all, only upon a determination by the board of directors that the reverse stock split is in the company’s and the stockholders’ best interests at that time. In connection with any determination to effect the reverse stock split, the board of directors will set the time for such a split and select a specific ratio within the range. These determinations will be made by the board of directors with the intention to create the greatest marketability for our common stock based upon prevailing market conditions at that time.

 

The board of directors reserves its right to elect to abandon the reverse stock split if it determines, in its sole discretion, that this proposal is no longer in the best interests of the company and its stockholders.

 

Purpose of the Reverse Stock Split Amendment

 

Our common stock currently trades on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “SIRI”. The NASDAQ Global Select Market has several continued listing criteria that companies must satisfy in order to remain listed on the exchange. One of these criteria is that a company’s common stock have a trading price that is greater than or equal to $1.00 per share. On September 15, 2009, we received notice from the NASDAQ Stock Market that our common stock had closed below $1.00 per share for 30 consecutive business days and was therefore not in compliance with the NASDAQ Marketplace Rules. On March 16, 2010, we received a letter from the NASDAQ staff stating that we had not regained compliance with the $1.00 minimum closing bid price requirement for continued listing under NASDAQ Listing Rule 5450(a)(1). We have been granted a hearing before a NASDAQ Hearings Panel to appeal the staff’s determination. This request automatically stayed any action to delist our common stock from The NASDAQ Global Select Market until the hearing procedures have concluded. Currently, we meet all of The NASDAQ Global Select Market’s continued listing criteria, other than the minimum bid price requirement.

 

The purpose of the reverse stock split is to increase the per share trading value of our common stock. Our board of directors intends to effect the proposed reverse stock split only if it believes that a decrease in the number of shares outstanding is likely to improve the trading price for our common stock, and only if the implementation of a reverse stock split is determined by the board of directors to be in the best interests of the company and its stockholders. Our board of directors may exercise its discretion not to implement a reverse stock split.

 

Impact of the Reverse Stock Split Amendment if Implemented

 

If approved and effected, the reverse stock split will be realized simultaneously and in the same ratio for all of our common stock. The reverse stock split will affect all holders of our common stock uniformly and will not affect any stockholder’s percentage ownership interest in the company. As described below, holders of common stock otherwise entitled to a fractional share as a result of the reverse stock split will receive a cash payment in lieu of such fractional share. These cash payments will reduce the number of post-reverse stock split holders of our common stock to the extent there are concurrently stockholders who would otherwise receive less than one share of common stock after the reverse stock split. In addition, the reverse stock split will not affect any stockholder’s proportionate voting power (subject to the treatment of fractional shares).

The principal effects of the Reverse Stock Split Amendment will be that:

 

 

 

 

The table below illustrates the effect, as of February 23, 2010, of a reverse stock split at certain ratios on (i) the shares of common stock outstanding and reserved for issuance, (ii) the reduced number of total authorized shares of common stock under our certificate of incorporation, and (iii) the resulting number of shares of common stock available for issuance:

 

 

Certain Risks Associated with the Reverse Stock Split

 

 

Our board of directors intends to effect the reverse stock split only if the implementation of the reverse stock split is determined by the board of directors to be in the best interests of the company and its stockholders.

Effective Time

 

If our board of directors approves the reverse stock split, the split would become effective as of 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, (the “Effective Time”) on the date of filing the Reverse Stock Split Amendment with the office of the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware. Except as explained below with respect to fractional shares, at the Effective Time, shares of our common stock issued and outstanding immediately prior thereto will be combined, automatically and without any action on the part of the stockholders, into one share of our common stock in accordance with the reverse stock split ratio determined by our board of directors.

 

After the Effective Time, we will continue to be subject to periodic reporting and other requirements of the Exchange Act. Our common stock will continue to be listed on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “SIRI”, although NASDAQ will add the letter “D” to the end of the trading symbol for a period of 20 trading days after the Effective Date to indicate that the reverse stock split has occurred.

 

Board Discretion to Implement the Reverse Stock Split Amendment

 

If the reverse stock split is approved by our stockholders, it will be effected, if at all, only upon a determination by our board of directors that a reverse stock split (at a ratio determined by the board of directors as described above) is in the best interests of the company and the stockholders. The board of directors’ determination as to whether the reverse stock split will be effected and, if so, at what ratio, will be based upon certain factors, including existing and expected marketability and liquidity of our common stock, prevailing market conditions and the likely effect on the market price of our common stock. If our board of directors determines to effect the reverse stock split, the board of directors will consider various factors in selecting the ratio including the overall market conditions at the time and the recent trading history of the common stock.

 

Fractional Shares

 

Stockholders will not receive fractional post-reverse stock split shares in connection with the reverse stock split. Instead, our transfer agent for the registered stockholders will aggregate all fractional shares and arrange for them to be sold as soon as practicable after the Effective Time at the then prevailing prices on the open market on behalf of those stockholders who would otherwise be entitled to receive a fractional share. We expect that the transfer agent will cause the sale to be conducted in an orderly fashion at a reasonable pace and that it may take several days to sell all of the aggregated fractional shares of common stock. After completing the sale, stockholders will receive a cash payment from the transfer agent in an amount equal to the stockholder’s pro rata share of the total net proceeds of these sales. No transaction costs will be assessed on the sale. However, the proceeds will be subject to certain taxes as discussed below. In addition, stockholders will not be entitled to receive interest for the period of time between the Effective Time and the date a stockholder receives payment for the cashed-out shares. The payment amount will be paid to the stockholder in the form of a check in accordance with the procedures outlined below.

 

After the reverse stock split, a stockholder will have no further interest in the company with respect to their cashed-out fractional shares. A person otherwise entitled to a fractional interest will not have any voting, dividend or other rights except to receive payment as described above.

 

Effect on Beneficial Holders of Common Stock (i.e., stockholders who hold in “street name”)

 

Upon the reverse stock split, we intend to treat shares held by stockholders in “street name,” through a bank, broker or other nominee, in the same manner as registered stockholders whose shares are registered in their names. Banks, brokers or other nominees will be instructed to effect the reverse stock split for their beneficial holders holding our common stock in “street name”. However, these banks, brokers or other nominees may have different procedures than registered stockholders for processing the reverse stock split and making payment for fractional shares. If a stockholder holds shares of our common stock with a bank, broker or other nominee and has any questions in this regard, stockholders are encouraged to contact their bank, broker or other nominee.

Effect on Registered “Book-Entry” Holders of Common Stock (i.e. stockholders that are registered on the transfer agent’s books and records but do not hold stock certificates)

 

Certain of our registered holders of common stock may hold some or all of their shares electronically in book-entry form with the transfer agent. These stockholders do not have stock certificates evidencing their ownership of the common stock. They are, however, provided with a statement reflecting the number of shares registered in their accounts.

 

If a stockholder holds registered shares in book-entry form with the transfer agent, no action needs to be taken to receive post-reverse stock split shares or cash payment in lieu of any fractional share interest, if applicable. If a stockholder is entitled to post-reverse stock split shares, a transaction statement will automatically be sent to the stockholder’s address of record indicating the number of shares of common stock held following the reverse stock split.

 

If a stockholder is entitled to a payment in lieu of any fractional share interest, a check will be mailed to the stockholder’s registered address as soon as practicable after the Effective Time. By signing and cashing the check, stockholders will warrant that they owned the shares of common stock for which they received a cash payment. The cash payment is subject to applicable federal and state income tax and state abandoned property laws. In addition, stockholders will not be entitled to receive interest for the period of time between the Effective Time of the reverse stock split and the date payment is received.

 

Effect on Certificated Shares

 

Stockholders holding shares of our common stock in certificate form will be sent a transmittal letter by the transfer agent after the Effective Time. The letter of transmittal will contain instructions on how a stockholder should surrender his or her certificate(s) representing shares of our common stock (“Old Certificates”) to the transfer agent in exchange for certificates representing the appropriate number of whole shares of post-reverse stock split common stock (“New Certificates”). No New Certificates will be issued to a stockholder until such stockholder has surrendered all Old Certificates, together with a properly completed and executed letter of transmittal, to the transfer agent. No stockholder will be required to pay a transfer or other fee to exchange his, her or its Old Certificates.

 

Stockholders will then receive a New Certificate(s) representing the number of whole shares of common stock to which they are entitled as a result of the reverse stock split. Until surrendered, we will deem outstanding Old Certificates held by stockholders to be cancelled and only to represent the number of whole shares of post-reverse stock split common stock to which these stockholders are entitled.

 

Any Old Certificates submitted for exchange, whether because of a sale, transfer or other disposition of stock, will automatically be exchanged for New Certificates. If an Old Certificate has a restrictive legend on the back of the Old Certificate(s), the New Certificate will be issued with the same restrictive legends that are on the back of the Old Certificate(s).

 

If a stockholder is entitled to a payment in lieu of any fractional share interest, such payment will be made as described above under “Fractional Shares”.

 

Stockholders should not destroy any stock certificate(s) and should not submit any stock certificate(s) until requested to do so.

 

Accounting Matters

 

The reverse stock split will not affect the par value of a share of our common stock. As a result, as of the Effective Time of the reverse stock split, the stated capital attributable to common stock on our balance sheet will be reduced proportionately based on the reverse stock split ratio (including a retroactive adjustment of prior periods), and the additional paid-in capital account will be credited with the amount by which the stated capital is reduced. Reported per share net income or loss will be higher because there will be fewer shares of common stock outstanding.

No Appraisal Rights

 

Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, stockholders are not entitled to appraisal rights with respect to the reverse stock split, and we will not independently provide stockholders with any such right.

 

Certain United States Federal Income Tax Considerations

 

The following is a summary of certain U.S. federal income tax consequences of the reverse stock split to holders of our common stock. This discussion is based upon the Code, Treasury regulations, judicial authorities, published positions of the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) and other applicable authorities, all as currently in effect and all of which are subject to change or differing interpretations (possibly with retroactive effect). This discussion is limited to U.S. holders (as defined below) that hold their shares of our common stock as capital assets for U.S. federal income tax purposes (generally, assets held for investment). This discussion does not address all of the tax consequences that may be relevant to a particular stockholder or to stockholders that are subject to special treatment under U.S. federal income tax laws, such as:

 

 

If a partnership or other entity taxed as a partnership holds our common stock, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership generally will depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. Partnerships and partners in such a partnership should consult their tax advisers about the tax consequences of the reverse stock split to them.

 

This discussion does not address the tax consequences of the reverse stock split under state, local or foreign tax laws. No assurance can be given that the IRS would not assert, or that a court would not sustain, a position contrary to any of the tax consequences set forth below.

 

Holders of our common stock are urged to consult with their own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of the reverse stock split in their particular circumstances, including the applicability and effect of the alternative minimum tax and any state, local or foreign and other tax laws and of changes in those laws.

 

For purposes of this section, the term “U.S. holder” means a beneficial owner of our common stock that for U.S. federal income tax purposes is:

 

 

 

Tax Consequences of the Reverse Stock Split Generally

 

Except as provided below with respect to cash received in lieu of fractional shares, a U.S. holder will not recognize any gain or loss as a result of the reverse stock split.

 

Cash received in lieu of fractional shares

 

A U.S. holder that receives cash in lieu of a fractional share of common stock in the reverse stock split will generally be treated as having received such fractional share and then as having received such cash in redemption of such fractional share interest. A U.S. holder generally will recognize gain or loss measured by the difference between the amount of cash received and the portion of the basis of the pre-reverse stock split common stock allocable to such fractional interest. Such gain or loss generally will constitute capital gain or loss and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. holder’s holding period in our common stock exchanged therefore was greater than one year as of the date of the exchange.

 

Tax Basis and Holding Period

 

A U.S. holder’s aggregate tax basis in the common stock received in the reverse stock split will equal such stockholder’s aggregate tax basis in our common stock surrendered in the reverse stock split reduced by any amount allocable to a fractional share of post-reverse stock split common stock for which cash is received. The holding period for the shares of our common stock received in the reverse stock split generally will include the holding period for the shares of our common stock exchanged therefor.

 

Required Vote and Recommendation

 

The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of our common stock, our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and our Series B-1 Preferred Stock, voting together as a single class, and of holders of a majority of the voting power of our common stock, voting as a separate class, will be required to approve the Reverse Stock Split Amendment.

 

The board of directors unanimously recommends a vote “FOR” the proposal to amend our certificate of incorporation to effect a reverse stock split at a ratio of not less than one-for-two and not more than one-for-twenty-five any time prior to June 30, 2011, with the exact ratio to be determined by our board of directors and to reduce the number of authorized shares as set forth in Item 3 above.

 

 

The board of directors has selected KPMG LLP (“KPMG”) as our independent registered public accountants for 2010. As such, KPMG will audit and report on our financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2010.

 

Representatives of KPMG are expected to be present at the annual meeting. They will have an opportunity to make a statement if they desire to do so and are expected to be available to respond to appropriate questions.

 

On September 23, 2008, the Audit Committee of our board of directors approved the engagement of KPMG as our independent registered public accounting firm. Since 1997, KPMG has performed the audit of XM Holdings, which became our subsidiary upon the closing of our merger on July 28, 2008. During our two most recent fiscal years and any subsequent interim period prior to the engagement of KPMG, neither we, nor anyone on our behalf, consulted with KPMG regarding either (i) the application of accounting principles to a specified transaction, either completed or proposed, or the type of audit opinion that might be rendered on our financial statements, or (ii) any matter that was either the subject of a “disagreement” or a “reportable event.”

Effective as of September 23, 2008, we dismissed Ernst & Young LLP as our independent auditors. This action was approved by the Audit Committee of our board of directors.

 

The reports of Ernst & Young on our financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007 did not contain an adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion and were not qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles.

 

During the years ended December 31, 2007 and through September 23, 2008, there were no disagreements with Ernst & Young on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure, which disagreements, if not resolved to the satisfaction of Ernst & Young, would have caused it to make reference to the subject matter of the disagreements in connection with its report, nor were there any “reportable events” as such term is described in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K, promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

 

We requested Ernst & Young to review the disclosures contained in the preceding two paragraphs and asked Ernst & Young to furnish us with a letter addressed to the SEC stating whether it agreed with those statements contained herein. We filed a copy of Ernst & Young’s letter as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K dated September 25, 2008.

 

The board of directors unanimously recommends a vote “FOR” the ratification of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accountants for 2010.

 

The following table sets forth the fees billed to us by KPMG LLP as of and for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008:

 

 

 

 

It is the Audit Committee’s responsibility to review and consider, and ultimately pre-approve, all audit and permitted non-audit services to be performed by our independent registered public accounting firm. In accordance with its charter, the Audit Committee’s pre-approval policies with respect to audit and permitted non-audit services to be provided by our independent registered public accounting firm are as follows:

 

 

 

The Audit Committee has delegated to the chair of the Audit Committee the authority to approve permitted services by the independent registered public accounting firm so long as he or she reports decisions to the Audit Committee at its next meeting.

 

All of the services covered under the captions “Audit Fees” and “Audit-Related Fees” were pre-approved by the Audit Committee.

 

The Audit Committee has appointed KPMG LLP to audit our 2010 consolidated financial statements.

 

The following Report of the Audit Committee does not constitute soliciting material and should not be deemed filed or incorporated by reference into any other filing by us under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, except to the extent we specifically incorporate this Report by reference therein.

 

The SEC rules require us to include in this proxy statement a report from the Audit Committee of our board of directors. The following report concerns the Audit Committee’s activities regarding oversight of our financial reporting and auditing process.

 

The Audit Committee is comprised solely of independent directors, as defined in the Marketplace Rules of The NASDAQ Global Select Market and under Securities Exchange Act Rule 10A-3(b)(1), and it operates under a written charter adopted by our board of directors. A copy of the Audit Committee’s existing charter is available on our website at http://investor.sirius.com. The composition of the Audit Committee, the attributes of its members and the responsibilities of the Audit Committee, as reflected in its charter, are intended to be in accordance with applicable requirements for corporate audit committees. The Audit Committee reviews and assesses the adequacy of its charter on an annual basis.

 

The Audit Committee met eleven times during 2009. The Audit Committee schedules its meetings with a view to ensuring that it devotes appropriate attention to all of its tasks. The Audit Committee’s meetings include regular executive sessions with our independent registered public accounting firm, internal auditor and

outside counsel, without the presence of our management. The Audit Committee reviewed our key initiatives and programs aimed at strengthening the effectiveness of our internal and disclosure control structure.

 

As described more fully in its charter, the purpose of the Audit Committee is to assist our board of directors in its general oversight of our financial reporting, internal control and audit functions. Management is responsible for the preparation, presentation and integrity of our consolidated financial statements; accounting and financial reporting principles; and internal controls and procedures designed to ensure compliance with accounting standards, applicable laws and regulations. KPMG LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, is responsible for performing an independent audit of our consolidated financial statements in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States.

 

The Audit Committee members are not professional accountants or auditors, and their functions are not intended to duplicate or to certify the activities of management and our independent registered public accounting firm, nor can the Audit Committee certify that our independent registered public accounting firm is “independent” under applicable rules. The Audit Committee serves a board-level oversight role, in which it provides advice, counsel and direction to management and our independent registered public accounting firm on the basis of the information it receives, its discussions with management and our independent registered public accounting firm and the experience of the Audit Committee’s members in business, financial and accounting matters.

 

Among other matters, the Audit Committee monitors the activities and performance of our independent registered public accounting firm, including the audit scope, external audit fees, auditor independence matters and the extent to which the independent registered public accounting firm may be retained to perform non-audit services. The Audit Committee and our board of directors have ultimate authority and responsibility to select, evaluate and, when appropriate, replace our independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee also reviews the results of the audit work with regard to the adequacy and appropriateness of our financial, accounting and internal controls. The Audit Committee also covers various topics and events that may have significant financial impact or are the subject of discussions between management and the independent registered public accounting firm. In addition, the Audit Committee generally oversees our internal compliance programs.

 

The Audit Committee has reviewed and discussed our consolidated financial statements with management and our independent registered public accounting firm. Management represented to the Audit Committee that our consolidated financial statements were prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, and our independent registered public accounting firm represented that its presentations included the matters required to be discussed with the Audit Committee by Statement on Auditing Standards No. 61, as amended, “Communication with Audit Committees.” In addition, the Audit Committee has received from the auditors the letter and written disclosures with respect to fiscal 2009, which are required by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and has discussed with them their independence from the company and its management. Furthermore, the Audit Committee considered and determined that the auditors’ non-audit services to the company were consistent with the guidelines established to ensure auditor independence.

 

Following the Audit Committee’s discussions with management and KPMG LLP, the Audit Committee recommended that our board of directors include the audited consolidated financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.

 

Audit Committee

 

Joan L. Amble, Chairwoman
Eddy W. Hartenstein
James P. Holden
James F. Mooney

 

Our board of directors does not intend to present, or have any reason to believe others will present, any other items of business. If other matters are properly brought before the annual meeting, the persons named in the accompanying proxy will vote the shares represented by it in accordance with the recommendation of our board of directors.

 

By Order of the Board of Directors,

 

Patrick L. Donnelly

Executive Vice President,

General Counsel and Secretary

 

New York, New York

April 21, 2010

 

 

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