XM Canada and SIRIUS Canada receive CRTC approval to merge

On April 11, 2011, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) authorized the merger of Canada's two satellite radio businesses, XM Canada (TSX: XSR) and SIRIUS Canada Inc. The CRTC approval followed the issuance of a no action letter by the Competition Bureau on February 23, 2011, stating that the Commissioner of Competition did not intend to make an application to the Competition Tribunal to challenge the proposed merger under the merger provisions of the Competition Act, recognizing that the proposed transaction would not likely give rise to a substantial lessening or prevention of competition.In November 2010, Canadian Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. ("CSR"), parent company of XM Canada, and SIRIUS Canada agreed to merge in order to create a stronger platform for future innovation within the Canadian audio entertainment industry. At the CSR annual general meeting on February 17, 2011, shareholders unanimously approved the merger.The merger remains subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions and is scheduled to close by June 2011. Fasken Martineau is advising CSR on regulatory aspects of this proposed merger with a team that includes Stephen Whitehead and Robert Buchan (CRTC approval), Leslie Milton (competition), assisted by student-at-law Joel Henderson.