NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 24, 2012--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its rating and outlook on Sirius XM Radio Inc. (BB/Stable/--) is not currently affected by the announcement that the company's CEO will depart on Feb. 1, 2013. Liberty Media Corp. plans to increase its stake in Sirius XM to more than 50% from 49.5%, gaining a controlling position, subject to Federal Communications Commission approval. We believe Liberty could pursue a more aggressive financial policy if it controls the board of Sirius XM. We anticipate that as a result, debt leverage could increase over the near term, and could also increase if Liberty Media's ownership input leads to debt-financed dividends, acquisitions, and/or share repurchases. However, at
