XM, Sirius make it legal

TORONTO — To nobody’s surprise, satellite radio companies Sirius Canada and XM Canada are now married and will be henceforth be known as SiriusXM Canada. The union became official June 21.

The combined company’s stock will continue to be traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “XSR.”

According to an official statement from the company, “the merger will have no immediate effect on the current service coverage or existing radios, and in the near term, customers can expect to interact with each company as they always have.”

Longer term the merger means that growth opportunities for the new company will be “tremendous,” according to John Bitove, Chairman of SiriusXM Canada. “Our partnerships with all of the major automotive manufacturers will be a key catalyst to our growth.”

Also, according to Mark Redmond, the President and CEO of the new firm, “We also look forward to the introduction of an interoperable receiver later this year, allowing customers to subscribe to either or both of the two services. SiriusXM Canada has the most exciting audio entertainment content available anywhere. We’ll continue to listen to what our subscribers want from us, we’ll deliver the best music and entertainment listening experience anywhere.”

The merged company will continue to have a strong presence at more than 3,000 retail locations, an expanding online/mobile offering, and its radios will be factory installed in more than 800,000 vehicles sold in Canada this year.