At Sirius XM Radio Inc's annual shareholder meeting Thursday, more than 150 shareholders in attendance approved a reverse stock split and an increase in shares. The move will help the satellite-radio operator pay its debts, and prevent its shares from being delisted from the Nasdaq.

In order to lift the stock price above $1 and avoid delisting, investors permitted the board to effect a reverse split ranging from 1-for-10 shares to as much as 1-for-50. In an e-mailed statement, New York-based Sirius said that the vote boosted the number of authorized shares from 4.5 billion to 8 billion.

The stock has traded below $1 since September 10, amid concerns that CEO Mel Karmazin would not be able to manage the debt and meet growth projections. By selling new shares, Sirius could get the means to meet the nearly $1 billion in its loan repayments due next year, including $209 million in convertible bonds maturing in February.

Sirius' shares that tumbled 96 percent this year, climbed half a cent to 13.5 cents in Nasdaq trading, at 4 pm New York time.

Sirius predicts its subscribers to rise to 20.6 million next year, from almost 18.5 million subscribers after its $2.76 billion all-stock purchase of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. in July.