Minority Firm Seeks Radio Stake

MINORITY FIRM SEEKS RADIO STAKE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Kim Hart]
Georgetown Partners, a minority-run private-equity firm, is asking federal regulators to grant it control over channels geared to minority listeners if the merger between satellite radio companies XM and Sirius is approved. The firm, which has invested in wireless and media firms, has objected to the $4.7 billion merger plan, arguing that a monopoly could limit opportunities for minority programming. Chester Davenport, the firm's managing director, said that if regulators give the marriage a green light, the combined company should be required to turn over some channels to a minority-controlled entity. He said he hoped Georgetown Partners would fill that role, making it a competitor to the merged company. Without such a condition, the merger would "bestow upon the combined Sirius-XM a stranglehold on nationwide programming and content," Davenport wrote in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/12/AR200711...
(requires registration)