Liberty Media "will become an extremely, deep-pocketed
investor scouting for new deals in Hollywood as a result of
AT&T's acquisition of TCI," according to Peers & Katz of
DAILY VARIETY. Liberty "will emerge" from the deal as an
"independent company, nominally part of AT&T but controlled"
by Malone, with $5.5B in cash and "plentiful borrowing
capacity." Liberty currently partners with News Corp. on
Fox/Liberty Sports, a national arm of 22 RSNs reaching about
60 million homes. Liberty also holds interest in Discovery,
Time Warner, USA Networks, QVC and BET. Malone: "What this
presents us with is the opportunity to build new startup
assets." Peers & Katz: "With this much firepower, much more
than it has ever enjoyed, Liberty could be a candidate to
buy Internet companies, startup cable networks, expand in
international programming or even buy a Hollywood studio"
(DAILY VARIETY, 6/25). AT&T will "not have a direct
financial interest in Liberty." Liberty will be owned by
Malone, other TCI and Liberty execs, and the public (N.Y.
TIMES, 6/25). In N.Y., Leslie Cauley writes that Liberty's
structure was "an apparent concession" to Malone, as it will
remain, "for all practical purposes, basically independent,
with few restrictions" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/25).
NEW PROJECTS: In N.Y., Eben Shapiro reports that while
Liberty is "already a powerhouse in cable programming,"
Malone will have "free rein to make it even more potent."
He is "expected to add" to Liberty's TV channels, possibly
by "starting some new ones" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/25).
Media investor David Fiszel from Omega Advisors: "Liberty is
one of the cable industry's most valuable collection of
cable assets" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 6/25). Malone: "Obviously,
we love our Liberty" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 6/25).
DOLAN IN THE DOUGH: In N.Y., Paul Tharp reported that
"outsiders also made a killing" in yesterday's deal. Shares
of Cablevision "soared" 14 to 76, making its Chair, Charles
Dolan, a "paper profit" of $91.8M (N.Y. POST, 6/25). TCI's
stake in Cablevision "will soon rise" to 36%, meaning AT&T
will own more than one-third of the company (NEWSDAY, 6/25).
