John C. Malone's appeared to be close to victory on Friday in its continuing, and often sharp-elbowed, battle to take over Sirius XM Radio.
Liberty said it planned to increase its stake in Sirius to more than 50 percent, from its current 48 percent, which would give Mr. Malone's company definitive control of the satellite radio service. In a request filed Friday with the , Liberty asked the government to approve its takeover.
Liberty says it will “have purchased sufficient shares of Sirius's common stock and will convert its preferred shares†so that it can take over Sirius “within 60 days of commission consent.â€
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Sirius said it would “cooperate fully†with the F.C.C. in its review of Liberty's takeover application.
That represents a sharp turnaround for Sirius, which just a couple of months ago was much less cooperative. The company had urged the F.C.C. to reject a May 31 application by Liberty to approve a takeover. In that filing, Sirius said Liberty's proposal offered “nothing more than a refined menu of options for how Liberty Media might assume control of Sirius,†and did not outline specific details.
Last week, Liberty said it planned to spin off its pay-television channel Starz into a separate company, a move that is expected to free up the cash Liberty needs to complete its purchase of Sirius shares.
Liberty first invested in Sirius in 2009 when it gave the financially troubled company a much-needed multimillion-dollar loan in exchange for a 40 percent stake. The rescue package proved a boon to Liberty (the loans were repaid and the stake is now valued at roughly $5 billion), but a slippery slope for Sirius since it eventually led to Liberty's attempt to own the company outright.
The corporate saga has pitted two of the media industry's biggest personalities against each other - Mr. Malone, who has orchestrated some of the most storied corporate takeovers from his Colorado ranch, and Mel Karmazin, the chief executive of Sirius and formerly an executive with CBS and Viacom.
“I would prefer not to lose Mel, but he's gone public and said he won't work for me, so what am I supposed to do?†Mr. Malone told reporters last month at a media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Mr. Malone also said Gregory B. Maffei, Liberty Media's chief executive, who is largely credited as the architect of the Sirius takeover, would not run Sirius. “Greg's not an operating manager,†Mr. Malone said.
