XM Satellite sees new portable radios in '08

By Franklin Paul

NEW YORK (Reuters) - XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc XMSR.O plans to introduce new portable radios next year and expects car buyers to account for more than 65 percent of new subscribers by the end of 2007, its interim chief executive said in an interview.

Nate Davis, who assumed the CEO role in August, said XM would grow because of automobile subscribers, new devices and aggressive marketing partnerships even if its planned sale to rival Sirius Satellite Radio Inc (SIRI.O: Quote, Profile, Research) fails to pass U.S. regulatory muster.

"Our strategy will be that we need to partner with more people (such as) portable navigation devices and cell phone providers," Davis told Reuters late on Friday. "Sirius is not the center of my world if there is not a merger."

The company will focus on boosting cash flow and turning a profit, he added.

Sirius and XM, which in February agreed to merge, expect to complete the deal by the end of the year. But first the pact, which the traditional radio broadcasters have opposed, must get the approval of U.S. regulators.

"This is not a slam dunk merger," Davis said. "This is one of those that will be controversial. But we think on the merits, it will be approved in the end."

Davis, a telecommunications industry veteran who had previously been XM's chief operating officer, assumed the top spot after longtime CEO Hugh Panero said in July that he would step down months earlier than anticipated.

Some analysts speculated at that time that XM needed a new CEO to set goals and secure deals in case the merger fell through.