The nation’s two satellite radio companies have agreed to pay $19.7 million to settle rules violations, a move that is expected to lead to quick approval of their merger.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin told The Associated Press Thursday that the agency had reached an agreement late Wednesday night where XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. will pay $17.5 million and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. will pay $2.2 million to settle agency rules violations.

The agreement, which still requires a full vote of the commission, is expected to lead to approval of Sirius’s $3.9 billion buyout of XM, which has been under regulatory review for more than a year.

The violations involve complaints about interference the satellite radios cause with land-based radio stations and violations related to land-based signal repeaters the companies operate to deliver programming.

The vote on the buyout is currently 2-2 with Republican Deborah Taylor Tate still undecided. According to agency officials, Tate will approve the takeover once the enforcement action is circulated to the full commission.