Thu May 31, 2012 10:04am EDT
May 31 (Reuters) - John Malone's Liberty Media Corp filed a new petition with U.S. regulators on Thursday, seeking to take control of Sirius XM Radio Inc by converting half of its shares in the satellite radio provider to common stock and asking for the majority of board seats.
Liberty asked the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to reconsider a May 4 refusal of Liberty's previous application to take control of Sirius. Liberty plans to convert some of its preferred shares to common stock and hold about 32 perfect of outstanding shares.
The Englewood, Colorado, company also wants to nominate additional directors to control the majority of the board. It already holds five of 13 of Sirius's board seats.
Sirius Chief Executive Mel Karmazin told Reuters last year he would not be "really good at working for somebody. I just could not be a No. 2."
Earlier this month, Liberty raised its stake in Sirius XM to 46.2 percent from 40 percent as it bought another 60.35 million shares, but had not announced its plan to convert its shares to common stock until Thursday.
In 2009, Liberty became the largest shareholder in Sirius after it loaned it $530 million to help avoid bankruptcy. Under terms, the loan converted the loan to a stake.
Malone's Liberty businesses own significant strategic stakes in a variety of businesses, including book retailer Barnes & Noble Inc and concert promoter Live Nation Entertainment Inc.
Sirius XM shares rose 3 cents, or 1.6 percent to $1.92, while Liberty fell 46 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $83.24.
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