No developments on Malone, News Corp talks--Malone
Thu Jul 7, 2005 04:24 PM ET
By Gina Keating
SUN VALLEY, IDAHO, July 7 (Reuters) - Media pioneer John Malone on Thursday said a deal to unwind or sell off his big stake in News Corp. has not been completed and suggested nothing may happen at all at a time when the market had expected a speedy resolution.
Malone, an aggressive negotiator whose TeleCommunications Inc. once controlled service to one in four U.S. cable TV subscribers in the 1990s, quietly amassed an 18 percent voting stake in News Corp. last year, spooking CEO Rupert Murdoch.
News Corp.'s board enacted a poison pill provision to head off a potential hostile takeover just days later.
Since then, the two former associates have held discussions over how to unwind Malone's stake.
"We've had very friendly discussions. We're a big shareholder. We're a big fan," Liberty Media chairman Malone told Reuters at the annual media mogul gathering in Sun Valley, Idaho, sponsored by Allen & Co.
But he added: "It's not entirely clear that any change in the relationship is necessary or really wanted by anybody."
Malone's comments could have an impact on Liberty Media Corp. (L.N: Quote, Profile, Research) shares because investors were betting the company was near a deal to unwind its stake.
"While we believe News Corp. would be interested in acquiring (Liberty's) 18 percent stake in News Corp., it is not compelled to do so as it can extend its current poison pill indefinitely unless Liberty offers News Corp. an attractive deal," Richard Greenfield, an analyst at Fulcrum Global Partners wrote in a research note this week.
Murdoch told analysts in May the company would not use its $6 billion cash hoard before resolving the Liberty Media stake.
By early June, News Corp. said it planned to buy back up to $3 billion of its stock, responding to pressure from shareholders to put its cash to work.
Liberty shares closed down 16 cents, or 1.56 percent, at $10.11. News Corp. shares closed flat at $16.76 on the New York Stock Exchange in late day trading.
© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
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no developments on malone, news corp talks--malone
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