As it waits…and waits…and waits for the FCC to act on its application to merge with Sirius, XM Satellite Radio has had to come up with substantial cash as a financial deadline approached. The company’s multi-year deal with Major League Baseball (MLB) requires it to have $120 million in escrow or otherwise available for the benefit of MLB. That obligation had been covered by a surety bond, but that bond is due to expire June 30th. XM has now come up with $120 million in cash (from cash on hand and $62.5 million of borrowing under its bank facility) and put it into escrow. That’s seen as only a short-term fix, since it reduced the company’s unrestricted cash liquidity, so XM is looking to replace that cash escrow with a letter of credit, surety bond or some other arrangement that doesn’t tie up so much of its cash.
