EyeQ Tech review EyeQ Tech EyeQ Tech tuyển dụng review công ty eyeq tech eyeq tech giờ ra sao EyeQ Tech review EyeQ Tech EyeQ Tech tuyển dụng crab meat crab meat crab meat importing crabs live crabs export mud crabs vietnamese crab exporter vietnamese crabs vietnamese seafood vietnamese seafood export vietnams crab vietnams crab vietnams export vietnams export
Business

Malone is ‘Sirius’ about TWC deal

By
Claire Atkinson
Published Jan. 4, 2014, 1:27 a.m. ET

John Malone’s Liberty Media wants the moon and the stars.

The media mogul wants Liberty to make Sirius XM Holdings, which it already controls through a 52 percent stake, a wholly owned subsidiary — just a year after it boosted its stake to a majority and ousted boss Mel Karmazin.

Liberty outlined a proposal on Friday for a $10 billion all-stock swap that gives shareholders in the satellite radio firm a 3 percent premium on Sirius’ closing price of $3.57.

Liberty would issue a new C class of shares. If approved, the deal would give Sirius shareholders a 39 percent non-voting stake in Liberty Media.

The transaction was naturally labelled as a “tax-free” transaction — a hallmark of a John Malone deal.

The move comes at a time when Liberty Media is also pursuing a possible merger between two big cable companies, Charter Communications, in which it owns a 27 percent stake, and Time Warner Cable. It owns a 1 percent piece of TWC.

The Sirius transaction could help Charter make a bid for TWC, its much bigger rival.

While whispers about a possible merger have been ongoing for months, there’s a big gap between the likely offer price and what TWC would accept.

Liberty has a long history with Sirius. Malone, in one of his most profitable deals, rescued the radio company from near bankruptcy back in 2009 when Liberty agreed to loan Sirius $530 million in exchange for a large equity stake.

Liberty CEO Greg Maffei, in a statement, said shareholders in both Liberty and Sirius will “enjoy enhanced liquidity as shareholders of a $27 billion market capitalization company.”

Sirius has continued to add subscribers as the auto market has risen — but it is being threatened by internet radio players such as Pandora.

Sirius has 26 million subscribers and an 8 percent share of the radio audience. The service costs $14.99 per month.

Liberty Media’s other assets include pay-TV service Starz, the Atlanta Braves, and minority stakes in Live Nation and Barnes & Noble.

Liberty’s stock dropped as much as 3 percent in after hours trading, after closing regular trading at $145.33, up 0.6 percent.

The stock has risen 33 percent in the past 12 months.