People sit inside the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC) broadcasting centre in Toronto May 23, 2014.Mark Blinch/Reuters
Sirius XM Canada Holdings Inc. shareholders have $75-million reasons to pump up the volume. The Toronto-based satellite radio company announced a special dividend Wednesday, following the company's successful debt refinancing in April. As one of its shareholders, you should be pleased. Yes, you – the company's second largest investor is none other than the CBC.
With the 14.5 per cent equity stake it ended up with following the merger of Sirius Canada Inc. and Canadian Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XM's then-parent company in Canada), Holy Mother Corp. is due to receive something on the order of $10-million from the dividend, said a company source.
Sirius has been a good investment for the CBC. According to a 2012 release, the corporation was one of three investors to contribute $12-million to the newly formed Sirius Canada in 2005, alongside Sirius U.S. and Standard Broadcasting (the corporate name of radio titan Allan Slaight's empire at the time). When Sirius Canada merged with XM's parent in 2011, the CBC received its equity stake in the new company, along with $18-million in cash, and a five-year extension to its agreement with Sirius that it would carry six CBC channels on its service.
Michael Washinushi, chief financial officer of Sirius XM Canada Holdings, said on the conference call in April that if there was further demand for debt, the company would consider increasing the load.
Editor's note: A previous version of this article posted online stated that the U.S.-based Sirius XM Radio Inc. was the parent company of Sirius XM Canada Holdings Inc. Sirius XM Radio has a 37 per cent stake in, and two directors on the board of, Sirius XM Canada.