Liberty Media to split off Capital and Starz units
Liberty Media Corp, the media conglomerate controlled by mogul John Malone, said on Sunday it plans to spin-off two of its units -- investment arm Liberty Capital and pay TV and Hollywood studio unit Liberty Starz .
Liberty, which has been criticized for its opaque structure, currently trades under three tracking stocks: Liberty Starz and Liberty Capital, as well as Liberty Interactive.
Liberty Interactive holds assets including interests in home shopping network QVC, internet company IAC/InterActiveCorp, and travel web site Expedia.
Greg Maffei, the company's chief executive, said in a statement that the split will create more transparency for the business and will help the company to better pursue our strategic objectives, including acquisitions using stock.
We also believe the split-off will be positive for the long-term credit outlook at Liberty Interactive, Maffei said.
Liberty said the split-off is intended to be tax-free to stockholders, who will need to approve the move. It expects the split-off to occur in late 2010 or early 2011.
(Reporting by Michael Erman; Editing by Dhara Ranasinghe)
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