Seriously, this one took the Justice Department a long, long time to decide on. But they have finally given Sirius and XM approval to merge.

Of course, this means there are now more questions than there were pre-approval. Nobody really knows what the plans are for making sure people can actually listen to both services without having to buy 2 radios.

“After a careful and thorough review of the proposed transaction, the Division concluded that the evidence does not demonstrate that the proposed merger of XM and Sirius is likely to substantially lessen competition, and that the transaction therefore is not likely to harm consumers. The Division reached this conclusion because the evidence did not show that the merger would enable the parties to profitably increase prices to satellite radio customers for several reasons, including: a lack of competition between the parties in important segments even without the merger; the competitive alternative services available to consumers; technological change that is expected to make those alternatives increasingly attractive over time; and efficiencies likely to flow from the transaction that could benefit consumers.

Source: Justice Department statement.