The Justice Department on Monday approved Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.'s proposed $5 billion buyout of rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., saying the deal was unlikely to lessen competition or harm consumers. The transaction was approved without conditions, despite opposition from consumer groups and an intense lobbying campaign by the land-based radio industry. The combination still requires approval from the Federal Communications Commission, which prohibited a merger when it first granted satellite radio operating licenses in 1997.

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