The future of the cockpit weather service attached to most of the popular glass panels is in question with news that Sirius XM may be preparing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. The New York Times is reporting that the debt-ridden company has $175 million in debt coming due next week “that is unlikely to be able to pay” and quotes unnamed sources as saying bankruptcy experts have been engaged to prepare a Chapter 11 filing. But the newspaper also says the bankruptcy talk may be part of a “negotiating dance” with a major creditor, EchoStar, to forestall a takeover.
The Times says Sirius XM, which is the union of two former competitors, owes about $3.25 billion total and is counting on the slow, but steady return of $20 monthly subscriptions to eventually turn a profit. But the company’s biggest customers, U.S. automakers who put the receivers in their vehicles, aren’t ordering them at the forecast rate. The weather service is a small component of the overall business and hasn’t been mentioned in any of the coverage.
