Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei, named the chairman of Sirius XM on Thursday, says a spin-off from Liberty Media is “absolutely” a possibility for the satellite radio company. “At some point it might make sense for Sirius to be a totally independent, separate company,” Maffei said Thursday during an interview on CNBC.Maffei’s appointment comes as no surprise since Liberty Media now owns more than 50% of Sirius XM shares. Liberty received FCC approval and inserted its own board of directors in January. Three Sirius XM board members resigned after Liberty took over control of the company. They were replaced by two current Liberty Media executives and a former Liberty Media general counsel.
Maffei did not say whether or not interim CEO Jim Meyer would be named CEO but hinted the search committee, of which he is a member, will soon finalize its choice. “I think we’re getting close,” Maffei said. Meyer replaced long-time Sirius XM CEO Mel Karmazin when he stepped down in October.
In 2012, Sirius XM added 2 million subscribers to end the year with 23.9 million. It expects to add another 1.4 million subscribers this year, although that number could rise due to strong auto sales. [Billboard.biz]
