XM pays about $185 million for licenses

WASHINGTON, July 14 (UPI) -- Washington's XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. will pay about $185 million for wireless spectrum licenses in key U.S. markets.

XM will acquire the licenses by purchasing WCS Wireless, which owns licenses in areas reaching 163 million people, including potential listeners in 15 of the nation's top 20 markets.

On average, WCS Wireless licenses include 10 megahertz in the frequency bands adjacent to XM's satellite radio service, XM said.

XM, which is paying for WCS Wireless with 5.5 million shares of its common stock, has about 4.4 million subscribers.

XM, which trades on the Nasdaq, closed near $35 per share Wednesday.