Sirius XM

The long-awaited merger of satellite radio’s two players has finally been approved by the FCC. As an early subscriber to XM who converted to Sirius, I am pleased that, soon, I will be able to reap the benefits of their combined programing.

Here in real estate, the merger should serve as a breadcrumb left on the path of logic and forward thinking.

Why the merger makes sense

Other than slight differences in individual programs (comedy, music, talk, etc.,) both XM and Sirius are seemingly duplicate models performing duplicate functions vying for the same consumer.

Each company employs staff performing similar functions. Since both entities are not yet profitable, merging will dramatically reduce these redundancies, which would, if allowed to fester, bring about their ruin.

The merger creates one incredibly strong entity from two struggling companies with less than 5% market share fighting each other to the death.

What this means for real estate

This is almost too obvious. M&A activity has dropped off the table in real estate, but does that make sense? Is not a down market the best time to combined staff, mingle offerings, and shore up financials?

I think there’s a valid argument here. I’ve spoken at association meetings and wondered out loud why one association with no technology but a core education competency isn’t partnering with a neighboring association with great technology but vulnerabilities in administration or education.

Sirius XM

This is the name of the new entity. To me, it’s genius.  Both names own market share. Both names are well known to satellite users. XM is a channel on Ford radios and Sirius is branded on Mercedes. Why create a new name and make customers feel expired?

I think real estate could take a chapter out of this book. What do you think?

– Davison